Shinigami of the Leaf
by Titanomachy
Summary: Kurosaki Ichigo was granted another chance by the Soul King at life by transporting him to the Elemental Nations. How will the appearance of said Kurosaki affect the course of destiny in the Elemental Nations, especially the destiny of one Uzumaki Naruto?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:  
AUTHOR OF THIS FANFIC DOES NOT OWN BLEACH OR NARUTO IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. THESE TWO GREAT IP'S ARE PROPERTY OF TITE KUBO AND MASASHI KISHIMOTO RESPECTIVELY. I DO NOT WHATSOEVER ALSO USE THIS FANFIC TO GAIN ANY FORM OF REVENUE AS WELL.**

**NOTE:**

**A poll is posted on my account page regarding:**

**Story Arc for Chapter 3 and possibly Chapter 4 (Land of Waves Arc will continue on Chapter 5)**

**Shinigami of the Leaf**

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo stares at the glowing purple orb in his hands. To an observer that was never close to Ichigo, they will see that he is looking at the orb with a look of indifference. However, to those who know him thoroughly or at least interacted with him on a daily basis, can see sorrow, weariness, and rage. This small orb, the Hōgyoku, was the very thing in which Sōsuke Aizen used as the catalyst to start the Winter War. The war that forced the entire Goteijūsantai to its knees, Aizen's ingenuity in planning and executing his master plan of obtaining Kisuke's own Hōgyoku to complete his own was nothing more than flawless. He later revealed mutated hollows that have gained Shinigami powers and calling them Arrancars to face the Taichous of the Goteijūsantai in a free-for-all at Fake Karakura. It was here that they learned that Aizen started undergoing an evolution, or a mutation, by fusing with the Hōgyoku to achieve transcendence and fulfill his plan in assassinating the Soul King.

However the effort of one Shinigami Substitute has definitely destroyed the madman's entire plan, but not before accepting the price he must pay to destroy Aizen, sacrificing his power and life for one move that will hopefully end the war. Ichigo, using Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō, used Mugetsu to direct an omnipotent force of void black reiatsu toward's Aizen's mutated form. The force of the attack destroyed Aizen atomically, making sure the madman will never return. Aizen's death is similar to how a Quincy's attack will permanently destroy a soul instead of purifying it. All that was left was a cracked Hōgyoku that was slowly repairing itself. This lead to Ichigo picking up the orb and studying it intently and pondering on how something so small can cause a war of such magnitude.

* * *

Ichigo continues to study the crumbling orb in his hand, when he felt it trying to tempt him with power. Using his indomitable will, he swatted away the fledgling connection the Hōgyoku was trying to establish with him, making the sentient orb silent once more.

'_So much has happened because of this orb. So much life lost unnecessarily.'_ thought Ichigo. This is when an idea sprung up in his mind. If no one can destroy the orb, and since he is already dying, he might as well absorb the device and die with the orb inside his soul so no one can ever abuse its power again.

'_Hōgyoku, since I am your new master, I command you to merge with me.'_ ordered Ichigo telepathically. The orb, recognizing its new master, pulsed with a bright purple hue and instantly disappeared. Upon merging with Ichigo, it started pulling on Ichigo's mind again; this time much stronger than before. Ichigo realized that Aizen must have succumbed to the manipulations of the object or his madness was amplified by interacting with the orb and thus leading to this situation they are all facing now. Shaking his head to clear of all those thoughts; Ichigo, with sheer will destroyed the nagging probe of the Hōgyoku with ruthlessness and precision. For the first time since its inception, the Hōgyoku's will was finally broken and calmed. Ichigo was rather smug that he has surpassed Kisuke and Aizen in subjugating the Hōgyoku. However, upon realizing the he will still die and cease existing, that smugness and sense of achievement was replaced with melancholy and resigned acceptance. As of right now, he feels his body is slowly dissolving, his time left grows short, and he can feel the reiatsu of Kisuke, Yoruichi, Chad, Ishida, Orihime, and his father Isshin nearing his location. He knows that they will not be able to reach him in time so he just smiled and sent forth a burst of his reiatsu that carried out a message of thanks and apologies for not being able to come home after all of this was finally over. After that, he felt himself fall into the gentle hands of unconsciousness.

* * *

Inside the royal chambers there is a throne made with obsidian, sat a being that is only known as the Soul King, many millennia has passed since he has forgotten his name. Now, only his title remains. He also exudes an aura of authority, obedience and finally death. He was watching the events unfold during the battle and was filled with pride on how Ichigo, took down a man with an insane God complex and left the world by taking the very catalyst of the conflict with him in death. He has received the soul known as Sōsuke Aizen earlier and promptly devoured it to prevent the soul from entering the cycle of reincarnation. Now though, he is waiting for the arrival of a certain orange-haired Shinigami for a personal talk with the man who saved the balance of this world. He was shaken out of his musings when the familiar form of Kurosaki Ichigo materialized in front of him.

"Where the hell am I?" Ichigo asked to himself, as he surveyed his surroundings and his clothes, he now wears a completely white outfit that consists of a hakama and kimono securely strapped by a black obi.

"**You are in my home, Kurosaki Ichigo." **said a booming voice that practically screams authority and requires one's utmost attention. Ichigo, surprised that someone was able to sneak behind him, turned abruptly and saw a man standing 6'2 with raven black hair, porcelein white skin, high cheekbones, eyes that completely black that seems to read your very soul and an aura with the feeling of facing true death.

"Wh-who are you?" asked the eldest Kurosaki

"**I am what you simply known as the Soul King. I want to congratulate you on destroying Sōsuke Aizen and letting me finally feast on his soul. As to why you are brought here instead of waiting to be reincarnated, well, let's just say that I owe you a debt and I am offering you a deal to pay for this debt of mine." **explained the deity to the shocked Kurosaki.

"Ano… What death are you talking about Soul King-sama?" asked the still reeling Shinigami.

"**We deities cannot involve ourselves in the daily life to life occurrences on the worlds or dimensions we have created unless it affects the natural order of things and will lead to chaos at the end. Dealing with Aizen and stopping him from disrupting the balance using that thing that currently resides inside of you and returning the balance back to where it once was. Back to the deal, since you have dealt with Aizen and lost your powers and life in the process; Kami and I have decided to give you another chance at life."** explained the Soul King to the now floored Ichigo.

Ichigo, after all that has happened to him during his life, this one was the real kicker; to know that a deity has a debt to him of all people and was offering him a chance to live a second chance again. Maybe he can fulfill that promise to his younger sisters. Before he can accept the deal, the Soul King clarified a few things before Ichigo makes a decision.

"**However, you will not be sent back to Karakura or even Soul Society for that matter. Since you have 'joined' the cycle of reincarnation, the chances of you going back to that world is slim at best. We will send you to another world, this world is not as advanced technologically as yours but its inhabitants are still humans."** explained the deity.

'_It is sad to leave the world where my sisters will grow up knowing that I have made the ultimate sacrifice without giving them a proper goodbye… Although, the chance of having a blank slate is something I cannot let go of.'_

The Soul King seeing that Ichigo will most likely accept his proposal of having another shot at life coughed lightly to gain his attention.

"**What is your decision young Kurosaki?"** asked the deity

"I accept Soul King-sama." replied Ichigo respectfully

"**Good, now before you ask, Zangetsu and Shiro have merged with you. I am sorry Ichigo, you may not be able to talk to them anymore but take comfort at the fact that they are now part of you."** explained the King solemnly. Ichigo was extremely sad to see his two companions, no matter how annoying Shiro can be, were lost to him forever.

"**Do not worry, a new Zanpakutō spirit will be your partner from now on. It may not be Zangetsu, but remember, a soul cutter is an extension of your soul. To deny your new partner is like denying a part of yourself young Kurosaki."** advised the King sagely. Ichigo managed to nod at the advice of the deity in front of him. However, the king is not done yet and what he said next shocked the Kurosaki again.

"**With your soul stabilizing already and your reiryoku is already denser and more abundant than three Yamamoto with Bankai activated and still growing, you will finally be able to cast Kido spells. Before you leave this realm in favor of settling to your new home, I will be depositing all the knowledge of Kido in your brain. This includes all forbidden Kido, I am confident you will use it wisely and appropriately young Kurosaki."** explained the deity.

Ichigo, due to the war, his poor control of reiatsu and unstable reiryoku has been unable to perfrom Kido. The idea of performing a new branch made him giddy, especially after seeing some high-level kido at work during the Battle at Fake Karakura. Upon hearing the King's trust to him in using kido both allowed and forbidden wisely he promised himself to do that. Upon coming to a decision, he nodded his head and watched as the king stand up and approach him and put his right thumb at the center of Ichigo's forehead and started uploading all information on Kido to the Substitute Shinigami's head. After the transfer, Ichigo is currently suffering a massive headache that the King found amusing.

"**Before I send you to your new home, you will train yourself in all the Shinigami arts here in my dimension until you have achieved mastery of it all. The Ōzokutokumu will help you achieve that goal young Kurosaki."** said the King after sitting in his throne again. Ichigo only managed to nod to the king.

"**You will find the Ōzokutokumu at the courtyard. Do your very best young Kurosaki."** said the king. Recognizing the dismissal, Ichigo left the room and searched for the Ōzokutokumu. His new lease on life starts now.

* * *

**200 Years Later**

Ichigo, now 215 years old was walking towards the Royal Chamber where the Soul King is preparing the portal that will transport him to his new home. In the last century, he has mastered all aspects of the Shinigami arts. In Hoho, he was now able to match the fastest Shunpo user in the Ōzokutokumu and use some advance Hoho techniques such as Utsusemi to a high degree.

In Hakuda, he is a proven master in hand to hand combat due to years training in karate and the winter war has honed his reflexes to the max. He is able to use Ikkotsu and Sōkotsu efficiently and packs a lot of power. He literally disintegrate an enemy with his punch and can also use Oni Dekopin to finger flick an opponent through numerous obstacles like trees or even buildings.

In Zanjutsu, he has mastered it in a far higher degree than his Hakuda skills, facing master swordsman ever since becoming a Shinigami will definitely make one a master swordsman with proper training. Here he can use three master level Zanjutsu techniques; one of these is Hitotsume: Nadegiri, where Ichigo creates an extremely precise cut using supreme speed and force. The cut occurs so fast, the enemy will not be aware of them being hit until they are falling down dead. Hierro skin is also useless to this technique. The other is Agitowari in which Ichigo uses a single strike to bifurcate the enemy from the jawline below. The last technique he learned and mastered is Senmaioroshi. Here Ichigo cuts and slashes so fast he literally shred his target to pieces. Couple all of his techniques with his Shunpo he can take a group of enemy in matter of seconds.

In Kido, despite having problem with reiatsu control in the beginning due to his extreme reserves, has mastered it to the degree where he can match Yamamoto in the Kido Arts, he can use Hado or Bakudo just by calling the spell's name and still retain it's great power. He also retrained his hollow powers and was satisfied that his hollows skills now do not drain him as much as before.

Speaking of his reiryoku, the Hōgyoku is constantly making his reiryoku denser with each passing day. Although his reserves are constant which is about the size of three Yamamoto's with their Bankai activated combined, the density of the reiryoku is enough to send all members of the Ōzokutokumu to their knees when he released it. He can also induce fear to anyone by just making eye contact with said person due to his masterful reiatsu control that he still does every day. This is the reason why his Kido spells are extremely powerful; if Ichigo uses an incantation the spell that will come out is so devastating he reserved using the incantation if and only if the situation calls for it. Another side effect of having a broken willed Hōgyoku is immortality and regeneration. Meaning he can use a sacrificial Kido and have that sacrificed part back by the end of the week with the Hōgyoku slowly and carefully regenerating the exact arm that was attached to him before using it as sacrifice for a Kido spell. Also, thanks to his masterful reiatsu control, he can now keep his soul cutter from being stuck in its shikai state.

The most shocking of all is his new partner… Ryūjin Jakka. After the death of Yamamoto due to Quincy leader Yhwach, Ryūjin Jakka disappeared from the First Division barracks and to the lap of a meditating Ichigo Kurosaki. Upon learning of the famed founder's death, he asked the Ōzokutokumu on what is happening outside the King's realm and got a rundown of all the things happened after he died. He was shocked at first to see so much suffering even after the end of the Winter War and cannot help because of the Soul King's orders of not to interfere.

For the last 175 years, both he and Ryūjin Jakka have established a strong bond that is far stronger than that with Yamamoto and Ryūjin Jakka with the same amount of time. He also learned all of Ryūjin Jakka's Shikai and Bankai technqiues. It also converted his reiatsu to accommodate the fire type soul cutter. Meaning, every time Ichigo exudes his spiritual pressure, the temperature will increase just like Yamamoto; however the difference is that Ichigo's spiritual pressure is heavier and far hotter than Ryūjin Jakka's former wielder.

Ichigo's body has also underwent some changes as well, lean yet firmly muscled that caters to both speed and power is his built. A towering height of 6'1 and have orange hair that drops below his neckline and bangs that shadow his calculating and cold brown eyes. He still has his patented scowl on his face, making it his trademark look. Personality wise, Ichigo has become more cautious, calculating, and colder when facing opponents but does not hesitate to show his softer side to people close to him.

Ichigo was brought out of his musings when he reached the chambers that will transport him from this dimension to the next. During these 2 centuries, Ichigo has studied the Elemental Nations quite extensively, from how the Juubi was a shell of its former self and how a person sealed the Juubi inside his own body to stop its rampage across the world up to latest major event; that is the Third Great Shinobi War. He also studied how chakra is far different from reiatsu. Chakra is the combination of both the physical and spiritual energies produced by the body. However, upon further inspection it shows that it is not reiryoku that is the spiritual half of chakra. But instead it is the mental energy that a shinobi produces on one's own that interacts with one's physical energy to create chakra. Physical energy is from the energy produced from the cells that compromises a shinobi's body, whilst spiritual energy is gained through exercise and experience. He was also informed by the Soul King that Kido spells cannot be broken by chakra and therefore he must be careful on who he will target with Kido, especially Hado. He was also informed that even the lowest Bakudo can restrain even the strongest shinobi for quite some time. He was shaken from his thoughts upon stopping in front of the doors that will lead him to his new home. He steeled himself and knocked on the doors.

"Come in." ordered the Soul King

"Thank you again for giving me another chance." said Ichigo politely after entering the chambers.

"No no… Thank you for your service to me…" replied the King magnanimously, "Now, as you can see, the portal is up and running already. It will deposit you in one of the many forests in Hi no Kuni. Upon exiting the portal you will find inside your shihakushō a map of the entire world, plus a very detailed map of Fire Country. Remember this is your new lease on life, whatever you want to do with it, is up to you. Oh and by the way, take this haori." explained the King, before throwing him a white haori, like the one worn by the taichous of the Goteijūsantai, the difference is the word printed on the back of the haori, instead of the division number there is the kanji for Shinigami (死神) inside the rhombus. Upon thanking the Soul King he readily put it on and looked himself at the mirror the soul king has materialized and he got to say, it looks good on him. Thanking the deity again and giving his farewell to the man, he started walking to the portal. However, even before he steps inside of it, he hears a final piece from the deity behind him.

"Ichigo, when you do find yourself a mate in that world, whoever that may be for that matter. You will not have to worry about losing him or her to the sands of time or diseases, once you have done the deed, he will be inscribed with a mark that will make him like you, immortal and forever youthful. If you do decide to have children you have a choice of giving them partial immortality, and you also have the power to remove those gifts in kind. Use it wisely my boy. Have fun now." said the deity before shoving the Kurosaki through the portal and marking the new start of his adventures.

'_The Elemenal Nations will never be the same again. Child of Prophecy, help is coming soon.' _thought the Soul King before returning to the throne room.

* * *

**25 miles outside Konoha**

Ichigo grumbles to himself after stepping out of the portal from his previous home dimension. The idea of having a mate that will become immortal like him is appealing but, he thought that finding his mate is not the appropriate time for it yet. He was broken out of his musings by his partner.

'**Ichigo, even though you look 21 you are already 215 years old for Kami's sake. You have to start thinking about your future family.'** stated Ryūjin Jakka

'_I know, but we have to settle down first and find a stable job to earn some money. The money given to me by the Soul King will only be enough for at least 6 months.'_ replied Ichigo, Ryūjin Jakka just nodded and settled back to Ichigo's soulscape.

Ichigo reached inside of his shihakushō, retrieved a map, and studied the map of Hi no Kuni. He determined that joining the shinobi village and living incognito for a while is most preferable. He trekked out of the forest until he reached the main road and disappeared in a series of Shunpo towards Konoha.

* * *

Izumo and Kotetsu, the immortal gate guards of Konohagakure no Sato, are having a slow day at work guarding the main entrance to the great shinobi village. Izumo, a chūnin and a mysophobe, was watching the road for any travelers, possible intruders, or returning shinobi that might want to enter Konoha. He just got back from the Jōnin Standby Station because his partner Kotetsu, another chūnin and his partner, has been slacking off his duties again. After giving his best friend another tongue lashing, they went back to their posts and resume their duties of guarding Konoha against intruders. They were snapped out from their thoughts when a man suddenly appeared in the middle of the road.

"Ano… Izumo, did you see that?" Kotetsu asked his partner, getting ready for possible hostiles entering their home.

"Yeah, let's just be prepared for anything. We'll ask first what his is his business here before doing anything drastic." replied Izumo.

The man that they saw appeared was at least in his earlier twenties, was fairly tall, standing at about 6'0 or 6'1, long spiky but tame orange hair that goes below the neckline, and strands of his hair shadowing his eyes revealing brown orbs that shows unfathomable power beneath them and screams experience in war. He wears a black kimono and black hakama with a white obi to secure his uniform snugly. Over his black attire is a white long-sleeved haori that reaches down below his thighs, but way above his ankles. It was just tad shorter than his hakama. The haori has also an alternating pattern of black vertical bars and black diamonds among the hemline of the haori. On his left hip is a katana with with a black sheathe and dark purple handle with bronze diamond pattern, it also has circular guard that depicts flames licking the handle of the blade. He face also seems to be permanently stuck into a scowl. Their observations were cut short when the man stopped in front of them and coughing lightly to get their attention.

"Halt! Who are you, and what is your business here in Konoha?" Izumo asked the young man in front of them.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, and I come here to appeal to your leader about staying and establishing my home here in Konoha. I also wish to speak to your leader if I can also join the shinobi ranks." replied Ichigo crisply. The response unnerved the guards with the power that seems to coat each word spoken by the man.

"Very well, sign your name here. Upon entrance to the village, you will be escorted by our ANBU towards the Hokage Tower and meet the Sandaime. Be warned, any action that will show hostility against Konoha will not be tolerated." said Izumo, as Kotetsu handed Ichigo a roll of parchment and a brush to write down the pertinent information regarding his visit. Upon finishing the paperwork, Ichigo entered the hidden village and was awed by size and grandiosity of the village; he also noticed the festive mood the village seems to exude. He was brought back to reality by a shinobi dropping beside him with the gracefulness of a feline. He only gave a nod to the shinobi that he is ready to follow him towards the shinobi tower. He could have shunpoed, but it is better to hide his skills first than broadcasting them to potential enemies.

The walk to the Hokage Tower was tense. Ichigo can see that the ANBU, despite being trained exceptionally well, is tense due to his posture. To an untrained eye, the ANBU may be seen as relaxed but to Ichigo he can see that the ANBU is ready for any possible circumstances that may arise. Well who can blame the ANBU, here is a man dressed like a civilian that knows a thing or two about Kenjutsu, but the stance and power that he exudes tells a different story. It tells of a master in the sword arts that can kill you but a single stroke and not waste any energy at all. It also did not help that his haori has the kanji for 'Shinigami' (死神). Upon arriving at the tower, the ANBU instructed him on how to reach the top floor of the building. Ichigo gave a thankful nod at the ANBU and watched as the ANBU disappeared in swirl of smoke and leaves. Ichigo associated it with the quirks of shinobi. Ichigo entered the tower and answered pertinent questions from the secretary of the Hokage and waited to be called.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen the Sandaime Hokage, Kami no Shinobi, and the Professor, is battling his most powerful enemy yet; paperwork. After retiring from his post after the Third Shinobi World War and handing the hat to his successor, Namikaze Minato, he has been enjoying his private life with his wife, his son, and his grandson. However, the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune twelve years ago, and the sacrifice of the Yondaime in sealing the beast inside his son Naruto, has forced him into taking up the hat again, and started the efforts of rebuilding Konoha and warding off potential villages in attacking his home village.

Speaking of Naruto, he cannot help but become guilty and sorrowful for his life. The night people learned from a talkative council member about his status as jinchūriki of Kyuubi, his life became a living hell. Despite his attempts to help the boy, the civilian council keeps blocking him and the shinobi council from doing anything substantial to Naruto. Despite the law he set forth, the beatings, glares, and overall hate the boy received never waned. He can only take comfort in knowing that the cheery boy still did not lose his happiness despite being stripped of his childhood innocence so early in his life. The only things he can do are to support the boy financially and provide him at least some comfort.

He was broken out of his musings when a boar-masked ANBU whispered to his ear that a person is seeking refuge in Konoha and is willing to join the shinobi ranks. This surprised the Sandaime somewhat as outsiders rarely join the ranks of Konoha. Most of the time, outsiders just live a civilian life after settling in the village. However if this man is willing to join the ranks, it means he has already access to chakra, and that means he may be a former shinobi of another village. He cannot just accept him readily, despite the lack of manpower in his ranks. The man may be a sleeper agent for another village and can become a threat to the village. Getting back at the matter at hand, he dismissed the ANBU and motioned for his secretary to let him through. He will have his answers soon enough.

The man in question entered his office, and Sarutobi cannot help but sit straighter due to the aura of power that the man exudes. The young man looks relaxed, but his tense muscles did not escape the keen eyes of the Professor. Sarutobi also established eye contact with the man and saw his brown orbs scream unfathomable power and experience at him. Sarutobi shook those thoughts away and bid the man to sit so they can get underway.

* * *

After answering the questions that the Sandaime has asked of him, he was told that he will be under 6 months of probation to ensure his loyalty to the village. He will also be doing D-ranked missions with pay. After ensuring his loyalty, he will be tested to determine his possible rank in the shinobi forces of Konoha. He accepted the stipulations and left the village to search for lodgings that will suit him for the meantime. He also needs new clothes to blend in better with the populous and shinobi of this village.

* * *

After the interview, the Sandaime was deep in thought about the man named Kurosaki Ichigo. He did answer his questions succinctly; however he can also see that he is also not disclosing everything. He can respect that everyone has secrets, but he also has to look out for the safety of his village. He will have to keep a closer eye on the Kurosaki to determine if he is a subtle threat to the village or he is really not that comfortable in sharing his past with anyone.

* * *

**Time Skip: 6 Months**

It has been six months since entering this world, and Ichigo is slowly going mad due to the D-rank missions he has been assigned to. Menial tasks that do not need any shinobi interference should not be called missions but chores that civilians are too lazy to do. He finds the entire thing troublesome. He did not know that in another part of the village, a father and son playing shogi both sneezed and was discovered by family matriarch to be shirking in their duties. Both received a hit on the head by the matriarch who suddenly materialised a frying pan out of nothing.

However, those maddening missions are now finally over because he will be tested today to determine which rank he will get once fully joining the shinobi forces. He readied himself and wore a long-sleeved blue turtle-neck shirt with a red spiral at the right arm sleeve. It is then followed by his custom made jōnin vest. Instead of a green vest with pockets, his vest, or flak jacket, is black and lacks any pockets whatsoever. The vest is also plated on the inside and the outside with high quality metal for additional protection. He also wears black combat pants with knee pads integrated inside the pants. And black combat boots with steel-toes to protect it from possible stray kunai that can penetrate his impressive guard. He wears fingerless black gloves with a metal plate sewn inside the glove for hidden protection. He also wore his haori to complete the look he is looking for. He finished his set up by donning his forehead protection signalling of his affiliation with the Leaf, and strapping Ryūjin Jakka snugly and securely on his left hip using a customised belt he wore. This is actually the first time he will wear this to impress them all before, during, and after the ranking test. He looked himself at the mirror and nodded in appreciation of his look. He went outside of his home, which is in the quieter areas of Konoha and disappeared in a burst of shunpo towards the stadium.

* * *

**Chūnin Exam Stadium**

Shinobis that are off-duty were at the chūnin exam stadium to witness the ranking test of a new shinobi of Konoha known as Kurosaki Ichigo. Among the prominent shinobis that are at the stadium are Mitarashi Anko, Yūhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Hatake Kakashi, and Maito Gai. They are interested in this newcomer. Both Kakashi and Gai will be part of the team that will test the new guy, while Anko, Kurenai, and Asuma are just going to watch if the guy has got spunk.

"Hey Kurenai-chan, what do you think will happen with the gaki?" asked Anko to her fellow Ice Queen.

"I don't know Anko-chan. It has been hinted that he is a powerful shinobi. A master swordsman according to the rumours I heard." replied Kurenai, whilst focusing on the Hokage's speech.

"Then Yūgao will get along fine with him then." replied Anko easily.

"Maa… I do not know what to expect from this guy, and I don't heed that much to rumours floating about." drawled Kakashi, whilst his face is stuck in his favourite literature, Icha-Icha. He also deliberately ignored all the glares he has received from the female populace for reading the smut book in public. He is off-duty from his ANBU duties. In ANBU his codename is Inu.

"YOSH! KUROSAKI-KUN'S FLAME OF YOUTH IS SHINING BRIGTHLY THIS DAY! WOULDN'T YOU AGREE MY ETERNAL RIVAL?!" asked, well shouted by the eccentric taijutsu master to Kakashi. Maito Gai in a word is an eccentric individual, he has his thick eyebrows, green jumpsuit, and shiny bowl haircut. Kakashi just lifted his head from his reading and looked at Gai impassively.

"Hm… Did you say something Gai?" dismissed the elite jōnin easily. It only serves to start Gai on his rant about his hip and cool attitude. The rest of the jōnins just tuned out Gai's rant and focused on the arena.

"… so therefore, let me introduce to you the one that will be tested here, Kurosaki Ichigo." introduced the Hokage to the audience. The man of the hour walked methodically towards the centre of the stadium. Ichigo's face is still stuck in a scowl, but you can see the indifferent attitude that he has towards the whole thing, making gauging him difficult. Some of the female jōnins blushed at the sight of the handsome man that is walking towards their Kage.

"Now, Ichigo, you this will be a three part test, you will be tested in various shinobi disciplines and determine what are your strengths and weakness, plus determine your rank as well. You do not have to win, but it is a bonus to you if you do. The three parts will be a ninjutsu, taijutsu, and a kenjutsu test. Your first test will be a taijutsu match. You will face our premier taijutsu master, Maito Gai. Prepare yourself." explained and advised the aged kage before using a shunsin to get to the kage booth. Maito Gai just jumped over the railing and faced his challenger.

"YOSH! LET US SHOW THEM OUR FLAMES OF YOUTH ICHIGO-KUN! I AM KONOHA'S SUBLIME GREEN BEAST OF PREY, MAITO GAI!" shouted Gai, with a nice-guy pose complete with sparkling teeth.

'_Damn… that is one hell of an introduction. Is all shinobi of Konoha this eccentric?' _thought Ichigo.

'**I do not know Ichigo, I must warn you however if you ever imitiate this guy's fashion style, I will drag you here and beat the crap out of you. Understood?'** ranted Ryūjin Jakka after seeing the man's unusual and eye-watering style. Ichigo shivered at what he might look like if he followed the guy's style. It was enough to give him horrific images.

'_Noted…'_ replied Ichigo. He was brought out of his conversation with his partner when a man with brown shoulder length hair and a senbon sticking out of his mouth coughed to get both combatants attention.

"Ichigo Kurosaki against Maito Gai, this is a taijutsu match only. Hajime!" shouted the man and leapt away to watch the two slug it out.

Gai attacked first by running at jōnin level speeds, he cocked his right arm aiming for a right hook when Ichigo blocked and send a straight jab at the man's face, only for it to be countered by the Gai's arm. Both combatants are testing each other's strength and reflexes, and so far it is up to point.

Gai and Ichigo jumped back away from each other and formulated strategies to use. Gai entered his signature Goken stance, whilst Ichigo entered his Hakuda stance. Ichigo's stance garnered the attention of Gai, since he has not seen such a stance before. Upon analyzing Ichigo's stance, Gai was impressed by the low number of holes he can take advantage of. However, before he can move, Ichigo disappeared. Gai only managed to blink before pain originated from his stomach and was sent flying to the far wall of the stadium creating a Gai shaped crate in it. He removed himself from the man-shaped crater and started getting serious.

He removed his weights to allow him to move more freely without opening the gates. He blurred out of sight and sent a roundhouse kick to Ichigo. However Ichigo still saw Gai even without his weights on and countered effectively, he caught Gai's leg and punched Gai again, this time straight to his face. But before his fist can make contact, it was blocked by Gai's free arm. Both separated again and started having a slugfest again. Gai using his speed while Ichigo used a low-powered shunpo to match and surpass Gai's speed a little bit.

**At the stands**

The shinobi audience was shocked on how this newcomer can match an unrestrained Gai in taijutsu. Their blows against each other are making shockwaves that crack the ground due to the speed and power of their blows. Asuma, Anko, Kurenai, Kakashi, and the Hokage are impressed on how the two can match each other in taijutsu. However, it is clearly shown, that Ichigo has landed more hits than Gai. Each strike of Ichigo was precise and accurate. Gai's attacks were just redirected or blocked entirely. However the most shocking thing was yet to come.

**Back to Ichigo**

Ichigo and Gai have been at it for half an hour now, and both are not showing any signs of stopping. They both jumped back again and surveyed each other for openings.

"YOSH! YOU ARE A TRUE MASTER OF TAIJUTSU ICHIGO-KUN. AFTER THIS I WILL BE GLAD TO HAVE ANOTHER TAIJUTSU SPARRING SESSION WITH YOU. LET US FINISH THIS IN ONE MOVE. DO YOU AGREE MY MOST YOUTHUFUL OPPONENT?" asked Gai to Ichigo

"Sure. One big move." replied Ichigo

Both blurred again from sight and met halfway to the arena, Gai threw a single right hook with enough power to destroy a building. Ichigo just prepared to intercept the attack with his hands. Upon reaching the middle, Gai slung his arm forward, hoping to hit Ichigo. He was in for a surprise however, when Ichigo caught his fist without flinching. The ground behind Ichigo cracked due to the power of the punch by Gai. But the next thing Ichigo did was more shocking, he just pulled his index finger back against his thumb and flicked it a Gai's forehead. The force of the attack was powerful enough to create a miniature shockwave and send Gai flying through the far wall of the arena and through several trees outside.

**At the stands**

They could not believe it. Ichigo has replicated the Legendary Slug Princess's finger flick technique. What's more is that they did not see and concentrated chakra to augment the power of the attack. Just pure raw power alone, the Hokage was shocked and now more than ever that Ichigo is really a master of hand to hand techniques. The audience were not doing any better. A simple finger flick from Ichigo is powerful enough to send someone through multiple obstacles easily is something no one wants to experience. Asuma, Kurenai, and Anko just have their jaws hanging on the ground, while Kakashi was now more than curious about this newcomer. Kakashi was now sure that Ichigo's taijutsu is at least Kage level to defeat Gai in a straight out slugfest.

**Back to Ichigo**

"Winner of the taijustu match: Kurosaki Ichigo!" announced the proctor, impressed with Ichigo's skill in hand-to-hand combat. The proctor then waited for Ichigo's next opponent; Neko of ANBU.

* * *

Neko, a female ANBU that is partial to the way of sword fighting appeared in the arena in a traditional Leaf Shunshin. She nodded to the proctor to start the match

"Next match will be a Kenjutsu match. It will be between ANBU Neko and Kurosaki Ichigo. Hajime!" the proctor announced and jumped back to watch the match.

Neko observed the young Kurosaki and saw that his stance has a handful of holes. However, the flaws she perceived will be extremely difficult to capitalise on, making those holes in his stance moot in the end. Seeing as he will not make the first move, Neko unsheathed her sword and charged at Ichigo. Imagine her surprise when Ichigo did not move at all, she thought he may have frozen up. However, she shook those thoughts away and continued charging. What happened next shocked her to her very core. Before the strike can hit him, it was stopped, not by a sword, but by his _index finger_ alone. Her eyes widened when she saw that her swing was completely halted by a **finger**. She disengaged, tried to attack agin with more speed and power to her strikes, but to her increasing frustration and to the audience increasing awe, he still managed to stop her attack with a finger even when the strike is at full power.

**At the stands**

Shock. That was the entire audience is feeling right now. Neko, one of their best swordsmen is being matched by Ichigo in Kenjutsu. However the real kicker is that all her strikes are stopped by his finger alone. A finger! He did not even unsheathe his katana yet. The Hokage, was getting more and more giddy at having a powerful shinobi at the ranks of Konoha. It will definitely boost their ranks by having such a master of sword and hand-to-hand techniques. If his ninjutsu portion will be the same as his performance here, he will be put in ANBU to undertake missions that are great in difficulty, and earn Konoha some precious allies and greater intimidating factor due to the increase of S-rank missions that they finish. If words spread that Konoha has a high number of successful S-rank missions, clients will be going to them in droves, plus their enemies will think twice of attacking them, since the idea that Konoha's shinobi are extremely skilled will pause any nefarious thoughts of invasion in the near future.

**Back to Ichigo**

Neko was getting frustrated by her lack of progress against Ichigo. She is also having an enlightening experience, since she now know for sure that her opponent is a master swordsman, way above her and Hayate's skills in kenjutsu. After the match, she is hoping if he can teach her and Hayate some moves in Kenjutsu. She was shaken from her musings when Ichigo spoke in monotone.

"Are you done, trying to attempt the same thing over and over again Neko-san?" drawled Ichigo. The monotonous tone and laziness present in his speech irked Neko. Thus she jumped back and formed a cross sign. She created two clones. Both clones took their respective position and the original taking the top.

"**Mikazuki no Mai!" **exclaimed Neko. They all attacked simultaneously, it seemed to have worked because the three Neko's have found their attack to be true and hit Ichigo. However, the image of Ichigo disappeared and both of her clones disappeared. She then heard Ichigo talked behind her.

"Good move Neko-san, attacking me at three fronts to make sure that I cannot escape, very commendable of you." Ichigo stated to the shocked Neko

"H-how did you escape that move? It is usually an attack that guarantees the enemy cannot escape" stuttered the shocked ANBU member

"Indeed it is, however, you forgot that I can match Gai-san's speed without his weights. I just took it to another level. The move I uses is called Utsusemi. This technique means that I move so fast, that I leave an afterimage of myself that takes the damage of your attack and then the image of 'me' taking the damage disappear completely." explained Ichigo to the stunned Neko and awed audience.

**At the Stands**

The audience, were again speechless at the skills of their new recruit. Gai, who has already recovered from the **Oni Dekopin** from Ichigo earlier, is in serious contemplation about the revelation of Ichigo.

"His speed is out of this world. To move so fast and leaving an afterimage of himself. I say he is much faster than me without my weights and at least 6 of 8 gates open." confessed Gai in a rare serious tone. Those who heard his confession was shocked to say the least.

"You're serious Gai, You are one of the fastest men alive in the entire Elemental Nations, surely you must be kidding." asked a slack-jawed Asuma to his fellow jōnin. Gai just shook his head in the negative. That alone is enough to guarantee that Kurosaki Ichigo is definitely at least Jōnin level shinobi.

Kakashi, on the other hand, prepared himself in using the Sharingan later during the ninjutsu portion of the test. Gai has already confirmed that Ichigo's speed is faster than his own. The probability of him getting under his guard and using a jutsu at point-blank range is something not nice to experience.

**Back to Ichigo**

Neko finally reigned in her shock due to Ichigo's skills in speed and kenjutsu. She decided to rush him at full speed and attack him overhead. Ichigo just placed his left hand at the Ryūjin Jakka's sheath near the blade guard, flicked his thumb to release the lock. His right hand is at the handle and waited for the right moment to strike. Neko saw this movement and was wondering what Ichigo will do next. Mere feet from his head, Ichigo, using unrestrained speed unsheathed Ryūjin Jakka and broke Neko's ANBU katana in pieces. The move earned bug eye looks from all people watching the fight. However, none is more shocked than Neko. This proves to her that Ichigo is indeed a true master in the ways of sword fighting. The attack also showed on how much Ichigo is keeping restrained!

**At the Stands**

"… Holy Shit!" commented Anko, when he saw Ichigo's katana destroyed Neko's, or to her friends Yūgao, ANBU issue katana with ease. Others are not faring well at all. The match with Gai showed that he is a master of taijutsu, but now it also shows that Ichigo is also a master of kenjutsu judging by the skill he displayed in the attack moments ago against Neko.

The Sandaime is finally convinced that with Ichigo he definitely hit the jackpot when it comes to strengthening his shinobi ranks. He is now thinking of offering some incense to a shrine for Kami for the good fortune he has received in the form of Kurosaki Ichigo.

**Back to Ichigo**

Neko is still in shock on how she was outclassed in Kenjutsu. The proctor however quickly masked his shock in and announced that Ichigo is the winner of the match. He gave Ichigo a 30 minute rest before conducting the last part of the match. Ichigo nodded gratefully and sat on an empty chair at the stands. He started meditating and gathering natural energy. During the past six months, he found a book detailing the meditation practices of this world that describes on using nature energy as a catalyst in entering a meditative trance. Ichigo found this world's meditation practices enjoyable and started doing it at his home or at a secluded training ground every time he is not doing anything. He found out that the natural energy is making his already very dense reiryoku much denser, adding another dimension of power in his Kido spells and reiatsu enhanced attacks. Ichigo now have to double his efforts on making sure his reiatsu is masterfully controlled and avoid people spontaneously combusting due to the thickness of his spiritual pressure. He was brought out of his meditative state when the proctor called him to start his next match; the ninjutsu test.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi, known throughout the Elemental Nations as Sharingan no Kakashi, is observing his opponent for the ninjutsu portion of the test. If there is one thing he can expect from Ichigo it is unpredictability. The first two matches show how much skill he has hidden and the news that Ichigo rarely uses any jutsus for the last six months make it difficult for him to predict on what his affinity and how good he is with those jutsus. One thing is for sure though, the aura that is exuded by Ichigo tells a story of an extremely powerful and skilled man that should not be taken lightly.

Ichigo is also doing the same to the man in front of him. Physically, the man has silver hair that defies gravity, face mask, forehead protector that covers his left eye, face mask and standard jōnin outfit. Lazy posturing hides the readiness of the man to lure him into some false sense of security. Overall, Ichigo approves of the man's presence. Deciding that he should be the aggressor now, he started with one of the weakest Hado spell. Weakest in terms of classification, but to a Kido Master like him there is no classification of weak or flimsy kido, it all depends on how good one can manipulate one's reiryoku to produce devastating results. Ichigo nods to the proctor to start the match.

"Hatake Kakashi against Kurosaki Ichigo both can only use ninjutsu. Gejutsus are allowed as well. Hajime!" the proctor jumped back and waited for the fireworks.

Ichigo started by becoming the aggressor of the match. He pointed his index finger in the direction of Kakashi's right shoulder. He approved when the elite shinobi tensed and was about to start throw a jutsu when he heard Ichigo mutter a single word

"**Byakurai" **a pale bolt of lightning was released from the pointing finger and went to Kakashi at terrifying speeds. Kakashi performed a Kawarimi no Jutsu to escape the lightning bolt. The bolt pierced through the log, leaving a nice charred hole as thick as the bolt of lightning.

Kakashi went through a series of hand-seals at max speeds and ended at the Tiger seal and saying:

"**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" **a fireball twice Kakashi's size was released and headed straight to Ichigo, who shunpoed out of the way and prepared are Kido spell against the copy ninja.

"**Shakkahō"** a large sphere of red spiritual energy was formed and launched from Ichigo's hands and straight to Kakashi, upon contact with the copy ninja a miniature explosion occurred and a decent crater was all that is left. Ichigo knew that Kakashi escaped the technique but cannot see him anywhere. He then felt someone tugging on his foot and saw the hand of Kakashi, trying to drag him down.

"**Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu" **said successfully after dragging Ichigo underground, leaving only his neck above ground. However, to his surprise, Ichigo's form vanished altogether. It cannot be bunshin since Ichigo felt solid when he dragged him down. It was also not a shadow clone due to the lack of smoke when the shadow clone disperses. In other words, Ichigo has left and afterimage of him. He stood up and looked for Ichigo, only to feel a hand touch his shoulders, he looked back and saw Ichigo smirking at him and uttered a single word:

"**Rikujōkōrō" **Kakashi then saw six thin beams of light hit him at his midsection and trap him. He cannot even move his hands! He tried collecting chakra to his arms to break the bindings but Ichigo, put his hands on his shoulders again. His face however, shows seriousness.

"Let go, of the chakra building up in your arms slowly Hatake-san, unless you want to lose your arm in the process or cripple you permanently. Kido cannot be broken by chakra; you are just going to mutilate yourself painfully if you try overloading the bindings with chakra." stated Ichigo firmly, something in his voice made Kakashi know that the man before him was a leader, and that his voice obviously show that obedience must be shown. Kakashi followed Ichigo's advice and slowly dissipated the chakra that has been building in his arms. Ichigo just nodded and dispersed the Bakudo binding Kakashi and nodded to the proctor, signalling the match is over.

"Winner of the Match: Kurosaki Ichigo!" the proctor announced at the silent audience before them, no one reacted for a moment before the Hokage started clapping in appreciation for the display of skills by all the parties involved. Following their leader, everyone soon cheered due to skill shown by their new comrade in arms in the shinobi arts.

"Maa… You are really good Kurosaki-san, those techniques you used requires no hand-seals. And what do you mean by Kido? And call me Kakashi, no formal stuff needed." asked Kakashi to the 'young' Kurosaki.

"It is a special branch of techniques taught to me by my mentors before I settled here. A select few can only hope to grasp the idea, much less perform Kido, and the requirements for using it are rather steep." said Ichigo. It is true; one must die first and become a Shinigami before one can use Kido arts to the fullest. Kakashi just nodded and whipped out his Icha-Icha. He was waiting for an outburst from Ichigo because of this, but was surprised when he just shook his head in amusement and tapped him at the back.

'_Perhaps,'_ Kakashi thought, _'we can be good friends in the future.'_ with that thought he disappeared in a swirl of leaf and smoke.

* * *

The Hokage, has seen it all, but those jutsus used by Ichigo has piqued his curiosity, no hand-seals, cannot be broken by chakra, and powerful if the crater created by one of his jutsus earlier is any indication. He will just have to ask him about that later. For now he has to evaluate and assign him a rank among his forces. He stood up and applied a voice amplification jutsu to be heard by everyone in the stadium.

"Congratulations on Kurosaki Ichigo for defeating all of his opponents in this test. It also shows how strong you are my boy. Let us star first with Taijutsu, judging by the fact you have defeated Konoha's premier taijutsu specialist, Maito Gai, you can easily be ranked as a master in Taijutsu. In Kenjutsu, you have defeated the ANBU operative Neko in a clash of blades and destroyed her ANBU issue katana as well. Finally in ninjutsu, you have used a different set of jutsus or what you call Kido to defeat one of the best in ninjutsu in the village. As the current Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, I award you with a rank of Jōnin. Congratulations!" announced Sarutobi. He nodded at his newest Jōnin and swirled away in a shunshin to finish his ever growing paperwork, leaving Ichigo to celebrate with his fellow shinobi of the leaf.

* * *

**Time Skip: 5 Years**

It has been 5 years since Ichigo was made Jōnin. The last four years however, has been one hell of a roller coaster ride for him. After meeting the Hokage, and accepting his proposition to join the ANBU, which he accepted, he quickly rose through the ranks and became an ANBU Taichou. Under his command were Neko, Tenzo, and Weasel. His training of those three are legendary among ANBU members due to his ruthlessness and perfectionistic attitude when it comes to the combat aspects of the shinobi arts. However, he was also noted to be a very efficient and extremely skilled sensei when it regards to training various combat arts like kenjutsu, or taijutsu. During his time in ANBU he garnered an infamous reputation as the Shinigami of the Leaf. Due to his trademark haori, and the aura of pure dominating power he exudes when facing his opponents. Even the ANBU Commander is weary in annoying the Ichigo due to the fact of an incident where a rookie badmouthed him right in his face. Suddenly, the rookie and everyone else in the ANBU HQ were on their knees due to the pressure exuded by Ichigo. This incident cemented the fact that Ichigo is more skilled and powerful than the current ANBU Commander and perhaps on the level of their Hokage. Accolades are also abundant in Ichigo's team in ANBU due to their 100% success rate in multiple A to S-rank missions that they take.

But despite all of the accolades Ichigo garnered in his time in ANBU, two events pushed Ichigo in retiring from the force and return to being a Jōnin of Konoha. The first is the Uchiha Clan Massacre, where his friend Weasel, or Uchiha Itachi, killed everyone from the clan leaving only his younger brother Sasuke alive, and psychologically tortured him to make him hate Itachi. When he found out about what happened from the Hokage, the spiritual pressure he unleashed was felt all over the village.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

_Ichigo, decked in his customised ANBU gear, knocked on the office of the Hokage. He has just returned from a solo mission from the capital to train the current batch of Guardians in Kenjutsu and Taijutsu. It has been a long 4 weeks of stubborn headed recruits. Upon hearing the go ahead to enter, he can feel the tense atmosphere in the air; he just heard from the gate guards that the Uchiha clan has been massacred. Only Sasuke survived the horrific incident. While Ichigo may hate those some of arrogant Uchihas, he does not completely hate the entire clan. He shrugged off those thought. He will get his answers later after reporting the success of his mission to the Sandaime. He stood in front of the kage and gave a nod of greeting and respect._

"_Hokage-sama, mission from the capital regarding the training of the new Guardian members is successful. Here is the signed mission scroll and written report on the events that happened during the mission." sadi Ichigo as he handed two scrolls of parchment to the aged leader and waited patiently for the Sandaime to go through both papers._

"_Congratulations on another successful A-rank mission Shi. Proceed to the mission office and get your payment there. Is there anything else you need Shi?" asked the Hokage, he was preparing for the eventual outburst that he will receive for the event. Ichigo, or Shi in ANBU, has a technique that is like Killer Intent but more potent and deadly. He has felt it once, when Ichigo released it inside ANBU HQ, he was in the tower doing paperwork when he felt the heavy weight, making it harder to breath and sit straight. Upon investigating it was found it was Ichigo who released such pressure. The result was a unconscious recruit with a wet spot on his pants._

"_Yes, the guards at the gate have informed me that the Uchiha Clan was murdered last night. Do you know who perpetrated the attack? Perhaps I can help in the apprehension of the culprit Hokage-sama." said Ichigo, waiting patiently for his leader's response._

"_Yes, Ichigo, please sit down and let me explain what happened last night with no interruptions." replied Sarutobi after a moment of gathering his thoughts. The use of his name while in ANBU gear means something about him is personally involved._

"_The Uchiha clan has been at odds with Konoha ever since the Kyuubi attacked 7 years ago. Tensions were at an all-time high, and the clan is getting restless. It is said that the one responsible for Kyuubi's attack has the eyes of an Uchiha, meaning a Sharingan user. This rumour spread like a wildfire throughout the village and to make sure that the people don't massacre the entire clan by themselves, we have isolated the Uchiha clan in a place where we can keep a closer eye on them. The Uchiha's think they are being oppressed have started planning for a coup. I, looking for another way to resolve this diplomatically, asked for negotiations to be open. That failed miserably; however, a lone Uchiha took it upon himself to kill his clan without consulting me for that matter. He murdered everyone last night; even the innocent children were not spared from the nightmare." told the Hokage warily. The event has added a few more years to the clearly old kage. But the next thing that happened shocked Ichigo even more._

"_The one who did all of this, was none other than Weasel, or Uchiha Itachi. He was the one who massacred the clan last night, and escaped from being captured." finished the Hokage, to a completely speechless and horrified Ichigo. Ichigo took the time to get everything into place. The information on the why, when, and who of the incident was enough to release a fraction, merely scratching the surface of his true power. The Hokage noticed that it was getting hotter, the building is shaking, and then an explosion of dense spiritual pressure forced the Hokage to drive his head to the table due to the extreme weight of the pressure Ichigo is releasing. Some objects in his office started setting itself alight due to the increased temperature. Sarutobi, was awed and fearful of the raw power being exuded by Ichigo right now. This is more powerful than his killing intent during his prime. It is so thick that it really is difficult to breathe normally. Even the ANBU that has experienced his spiritual pressure during the 'Rookie Incident' still cannot believe that their Taichou is more powerful than their Kage. And just as quickly the pressure came, it disappeared completely. Ichigo reigned in his reiatsu and calmed himself. He stood up and bowed to his leader in apology._

"_I apologise Hokage-sama. The news of my subordinate doing that is a lot for me to take in. I would like to request a break from my duties as ANBU to get my thoughts on the matter organised." requested Ichigo. But there is a steel in his voice that said, he will unleash his pent up fury somewhere no one will be hurt. The Hokage, still having some laboured breathing, mereley nodded his head in acquiescence. Ichigo bowed again and disappeared in a burst of shunpo._

_That night, in an isolated traning ground Ichigo unleashed a volley of high-level hado spells to relieve him of the tension and rage he is feeling right now. He will not go after Itachi, but when they meet again, he will get some answers, if the answers do not satisfy him, he will personally make sure that Itachi will pay for killing the innocent who have no participation whatsoever in the coup being planned._

**END FLASHBACK**

* * *

With that incident behind him, he started relaxing and collecting his thoughts about things and what will be the next direction to his shinobi life. However, the decision was easily made for him by an event he witnessed during the Kyuubi Festival.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

_Ichigo, was on his way towards his home after buying his necessities from the Market Square, when he saw a mob, entering an alley. This made him suspicious; the mob was carrying weapons and being accompanied by some __chūnin on a hunt for something. He quickly shunpoed to a roof that will overlook the alley below, he took a look below, and what he saw made his blood boil, and his partner begging for him to release his shikai and torch the mob to ashes. Ichigo was tempted to do so as well, but before he can call attention, he saw a chūnin going through a familiar set of hand-signs that will definitely harm the young kid. The chūnin finished his hand-signs and breathed out a torrent of orange hot flames, approaching the bloodied boy at chūnin-level speed. Ichigo dropped his groceries and stood between the boy and the incoming fire-stream and called out a Bakudo spell:_

"_**Dankū!"**__ immediately a transparent barrier made of spiritual energy formed in front of Ichigo, protecting the young boy and himself from the flames. Ichigo held on to the spell, until the the chūnin cut off the chakra powering the technique, hoping the 'Kyuubi' will be just ashes. He was surprised however when he saw a transparent barrier protecting the 'demon brat'. However, what made him shit his pants was the man who set up the barrier, the Shinigami of the Leaf, glaring down upon them. He was thinking of a good persuasive argument for him to join their cause in finishing what the Yondaime has started when the famous __Jōnin spoke in an eerie cold voice which was usually reserved to his enemies._

"_Give me one good reason, on why you are attacking this boy behind me. If you give me a story full of bull, I will execute you slowly." warned Ichigo. Some civilian thought it was just a bluff or a figurative speech since Ichigo is a Konoha shinobi answered arrogantly._

"_We are going to finish what the Yondaime has started. We will kill this demon brat to get rid of the Kyuubi!" shouted the ignorant one, with many others agreeing._

"_I see…" replied Ichigo, the Bakudo is still up and running, when he turned around and saw the bloodied boy looking at him fearfully, but there was a sense of hope there, that he will not hurt him or kill him. It broke Ichigo's heart to see such a young kid lost his childhood innocence and bear witness to the flaws of humanity. He approached the kid slowly and non-threateningly, however the boy still tried crawl back and whimper in fear. Ichigo's will faltered but pressed on. Upon reaching the boy, he touched a pressure point to knock him unconscious and spare him the brutality that he will unleash upon these people. Upon making sure that the boy is safe and comfortable, well comfortable in his current state, he faced the crowd to see them whimpering to the sight of the Hokage glaring down at them and blasting them with his killing intent. He shunpoed outside the barrier and confronted the Hokage._

"_How long has this been going on? Answer me truthfully Hokage-sam." asked Ichigo in a deceptively calm voice. However, despite Ichigo being calm, the Hokage can detect a certain steel edge in his voice that warns him to answer truthfully or suffer the consequences. The incident from 2 weeks ago still has not left him. Such power was not seen in the Shinobi world frequently, the last of that kind of feeling was from both the Senju brothers and Uchiha Madara._

"_Ever since the night the Kyuubi was defeated. The council has been blocking my ever move to protect the boy, but perhaps you can. After this, let us talk in my office regarding Naruto's guardianship." offered the old kage._

"_Indeed. However, I have a request from you Hokage-sama…" started Ichigo_

"_And that is?"_

"_Let me be the one to execute the ones who are gathered here to hurt Naruto. That is non-negotiable Hokage-sama. I'll become Naruto's guardian from now on. This is a warning to never touch a hair on this boy again." informed Ichigo with a look that he will not back down from this. The Hokage glared at him for a moment, with Ichigo doing the same. A battle of wills, but in the end the Kage gave up, simply because after being interrogated by Ibiki or Anko, these people will be executed in the end either way._

"_Do it quick Ichigo. But this is the last time I will allow such actions." said the Hokage with a warning to his voice. Ichigo merely nodded his head in understanding. He faced the quivering mob and prepared to cast a high-level kido to eliminate the mob quickly and efficiently with the most pain possible. He gathered the required amount of reiatsu and called out the spell:_

"_**Kurohitsugi!"**__ suddenly a small orb purple-black spiritual energy emerged from Ichigo's finger, dispersing and creating the outline of purple-black box of spiritual energy. The box then seals all the members of the mob inside it. One of the glaring features of the box is its covering of multiple protrusions made of spiritual energy that is moulded to look like spears on every visible side of the box. The ANBU and Hokage watched on amazed at the sight before them. Ichigo rarely uses his Kido, and when he does, any person that sees it is awed on how elegant, yet also on how destructive it is. They were broken from their gawking when the spear-like protrusions pierces the box simultaneously. Screams of pain and flesh being pierced was heard from inside. After all sound has died, Ichigo faced the direction of where he left Naruto and started walking over there. As he started walking to Naruto the black coffin disappeared, and what was left was a dozen bodies lacerated multiple time making them like a human pincushion. Some unfortunate members of the mob are decapitated by the spears that pierced the box. Overall a gruesome sight, the Hokage just sighed at the number of casualties and ordered an ANBU to incinerate the bodies using a Katon jutsu. Their families will be informed of them breaking his S-class law. Sarutobi turned around and saw Ichigo kneeling beside Naruto, with his hands glowing soft green obviously healing Naruto's wounds. He slowly approached the pair and waited for Ichigo to finish healing the boy. After that is done Ichigo nodded to him and he placed his hand on his shoulder and transported them into his office. Ichigo carefully laid Naruto on the sofa and let him sleep through the meeting he will have._

_Ichigo and Sarutobi discussed everything regarding Naruto's guardianship. Ichigo will shoulder every expense that Naruto will ever need in his childhood life. The Hokage on the other hand gave the paperwork necessary for the adoption of Uzumaki Naruto to Kurosaki-Uzumaki Naruto. Ichigo finished the forms and settled everything about Naruto's well-being. However there is one more thing he needs to tell the Hokage._

"_Hokage-sama, I am retiring from the ANBU corps and shinobi forces effective immediately to facilitate the proper development and care of Naruto. It will be moot if I adopt him and not be there for him, especially now." stated the Kurosaki, giving the Hokage his hitai-ate and ANBU mask. This move did not shock the Sandaime, since he can see that Ichigo is tired of going through long-term missions left and right and with the news of Itachi killing his clan and now seeing Naruto getting beat up. Ichigo may snap and unleash a rampage that will make the Kyuubi's attack look like a tantrum. _

"_Very well, but remember Ichigo, should you need to return, you can always talk to me so I can redraft you to the forces." advised the Hokage. Ichigo just nodded and went to Naruto, placed him on his back and disappeared in a burst of shunpo._

* * *

Now, here he is in his home waking for Naruto to wake up. He observed the boy and cringed at the sight of a malnourished body. He has spiky sun-kissed blonde hair, heart-shaped face, cerulean blue-eyes from what he saw of the boy earlier, three whisker marks on each cheek, and finally a seal on his stomach that contains the Kyuubi, it was not a hard thing to deduce, if villagers are calling him demon brat and the Kyuubi attacked Konoha 7 years ago, it stands to reason that Naruto is its jinchūriki. He was brought out of his musings when he felt that Naruto is stirring awake from his sleep.

* * *

The last thing Naruto remembers is him being chased by an armed mob, being beaten severely, and being rescued by a man with orange spiky hair. What happened after was beyond him due to being unconscious. And now, he feels comfortable in wherever he is lying now. He felt around and concluded that he is lying on a bed. This is actually the first time he remembers lying on something comfortable. His time at the orphanage involves him being fed with spoilt food and sleeping on the floors, sometimes being bitten by rats or cockroaches that roam the dirty orphanage. When he was forcibly kicked out last year, his only shelter was a piece of cardboard box where it served as his protection from the weather, whilst searching dumpsters every day for food that is edible. And now, for the first time he slept comfortably and he never want the feeling to end. Sadly for him, a voice interrupted him from his musings.

"Good you are awake, how are you feeling young one" a deep, yet silky voice resounded from the room. Naruto looked around and saw the same orange-haired man that saved him look at him with eyes that is looking at him like a precious thing.

"M'fine." His shy childish voice seems to not convince the man at all, but he let the issue drop for now.

"That's good. Tell me young one, do you know why you are here now, instead of the orphanage?" asked the man before him. Thinking back of his time at the orphanage, he accidentally blurted out,

"I was kicked out from the orphanage." he murmured softly, his eyes downcast. Unaware that the man before him heard him clearly, he is also unaware of the narrowed look the man is sporting before it relaxed to a more pleasant visage.

"Regardless, Naruto…" called out the man. Naruto brought his head up confused on how the man knew his name and not sneer or glare at him. The man must have seen the look and sighed softly.

"Naruto, I know you because… well, I adopted you after you passed out." said the man like it is the most natural thing in the world. Naruto looked up with eyes alight with unhidden joy of someone there for him after being lonely for so long he threw himself at the man and wrapped his arms around the nice man and mumbled 'thank you' over and over again. The man just smiled warmly and returned hug, whispering assurances that he is more than happy in adopting him. After Naruto finished unleashing all pent-up emotion, the man backed away from him a little bit and kneeled to his level and spoke,

"From now on, you are now Kurosaki-Uzumaki Naruto, and I will be you aniki. I am Kurosaki Ichigo by the way. Call me Ichigo-nii from now on okay?" the man, or Ichigo now, demanded from him softly. Naruto just hugged him again and nodded his head. Happy that even though they are not related by blood he can now have the family he has been yearning for.

"Now, all that lovey-dovey stuff is over. You hungry otouto?" his nii-san asked him. He just looked at his nii-san like Christmas has come early. This was also the first time someone asked him if he wants to eat or eat anything nice. Naruto also missed the narrowing of the eyes of his nii-san again. He just nodded shyly. He was ordered by his nii-san to stay and wait for the food, he waited patiently and the smell of delicious food soon filled his nostrils and makes him hungrier than before. After waiting for a few more minutes his nii-san came out with a tray containing bacon, rice, omelette, an onigiri, and sushi. He set the table and both ate, with both of them talking about each other, getting know one another. This continued up until evening and both slept with smiles on their faces. For Naruto, this is the start of something good for him.

* * *

**Time Skip: 6 years**

The past six years came by and the number of glares received by his brother has decreased drastically. The beatings have now stopped because of one simple reason. Kurosaki Ichigo.

**FLASHBACK**

_After the Konoha Council learned of Ichigo's move of adopting Naruto, the civilian council made moves to revoke the adoption since Naruto is still a civilian attending the academy. However, there is a special stipulation that few knows the Sandaime Hokage has granted to ANBU members during his first term of service. Corps member who have served ANBU for at least 4 years and has done 10 A-rank missions or at least 5 S-ranks missions can ask anything resonable to the Hokage, as long it is not outlandish and within the power of the Hokage to grant. Both councils have agreed that such request is absolute and can only be used once. Ichigo utilised this method before adopting Naruto and retiring from active duty. He used this nice little loophole and threw back their complaints at them._

_However, some idiots never learn their lessons well. During his trek back home, knowing that Naruto is already home. He sensed chakra signatures approaching his home with an intention thanks to the Kido Barrier he set up around the property. The Kido Barrier is like the barrier that protects Seireitei, so he can sense and know when someone is at his property. He mentally smacked himself for forgetting to reactivate the defences after keying Naruto's signature to it, making entering his home like a walk in the park. He can swear to hear his partner laughing his ass off for his forgetfulness. So he left using shunpo, unaware of the bug-eyed looks he got from the civilian and the shinobi due to his technique. _

_He arrived at his home in time to see, shinobi with plain unmarked ANBU masks about to pick the lock on his door. He knew these men from Danzō's Ne or ROOT. He knows about it because of some of his men's interference on some of his missions while in ANBU. He quickly catches their attention and they prepare to attack him, but Ichigo was way faster, he quickly unsheathed his katana and performed multiple Agitowari and sheathed his sword slowly. A loud resounding 'click' and the bodies of Danzō men are bi-sectioned. He gathered the bodies and performed a low hado to vaporise it completely. He has resolved to keep a closer eye on Danzō from now on. After reactivating the Kido Barrier of his property, he went on and reported to the Hokage about his house being broken into, and with the perpetrators attacking him, and him killing them without trouble. After reporting it to the Hokage, he looked at Danzō straight in the eye, and let his eyes tell him that 'I know what you are up to Danzō.' with Danzō no even giving an answer to the knowing look sent at him._

**END FLASHBACK**

Since then, ROOT has become suspiciously quiet. Ichigo also returned to the force and took up his position as an Elite Jōnin after being retired for six years. He only re-joined the ranks 2 months before Naruto is set to graduate from the Academy. He noticed that Kakashi also resigned from the ANBU and was slated to become the Jōnin-sensei of whatever team will be assigned to him. Both he and Kakashi have now become extremely close best friends ever since Ichigo entered the ANBU corps. Both have shared stories about their lives and share a strong sense of camaraderie. He also is the second person he has ever revealed about his true origins. Kakashi vowed to take the secret to his grave and only discuss it with people who also knew that piece of information as well. Naruto was the first person he disclosed his true origins when they were sharing life stories a day after he adopted the kid. If there is one thing Naruto loves to uphold, it is his promises, for that is his belief. He felt proud that his otouto is more mature than some people he has the unfortunate pleasure of knowing.

Speaking of Naruto, ever since he has adopted the blonde-haired ninja, he has taught him the fundamentals such as science, history, mathematics, and calligraphy. He also helped as well on his body conditioning. So that in the future his body is built for both speed and power. He also taught him his personal taijutsu stlye and also some basic katas to his personal kenjutsu style. However if there is one thing his otouto hates from him, it is slave driver mind-set when it comes to training. Nothing but a sadist is what Ichigo will hear from Naruto during their training. With regards to his chakra control, Ichigo asked Kakashi to train him in chakra control exercises and reach him the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to replace the useless Bunshin technique being taught at the Academy. Kakashi agreed and both Naruto and Kakashi have bonded as well like brothers. Naruto has now two persons he can call aniki or nii-san and was happy for it.

* * *

**Location: Konoha's Shinobi Academy**

Naruto was excited! He was about to graduate from the academy and become a genin of the Leaf. After his adoption, Naruto's life steadily improved. His nii-san, Ichigo, is a world-renowned SS-Rank shinobi, with an extremely large bounty posted by Iwagakure and Kumogakure, due to him being a Leaf Shinobi and his success during his time in ANBU. He is the only ANBU that has his name known to everyone because he usually carries his mask on his right hip strapped to his belt and uses his real name in public even during missions when interacting with civilians or clients. He only uses his codename when confronting targets or during briefings. He remembered the first time he saw his nii-san on the Bingo Book with his scary ANBU mask on.

**FLASHBACK**

"_Hey nii-san, what does this Bingo Book contain?" asked a 9-year old Naruto. He was taking a break from finishing his assignment in his nii-san's small but impressive library, when he saw a black covered book with the name 'Bingo Book' in kanji. Since his nii-san is just in front of the fireplace reading a book, he asked the question. Ichigo looked over at him and smiled at his curiosity._

"_That otouto, is a compilation of ninjas that have broken the rules of their home village and ran away to escape from being captured by their respective ANBU. It also contains a list of shinobis that have no quarrel with their home village, yet was listed by rival villages as security threats to them. In summary, it is a list of powerful criminal ninjas or powerful ninjas that pose a threat to another village's security." explained his aniki._

"_Are you listed here nii-san?" asked an excited Naruto. Ichigo just smiled fondly at Naruto and simply said,_

"_Page 150." it was all Naruto needed to look for his aniki's profile in the Book. What he saw made him wide eyed and look at his brother in shock and awe._

_His entry states:_

_**Name: **_

_**Kurosaki Ichigo**_

_**Age: **_

_**~ 20 to 23**_

_**Alias: **_

_**Shi (ANBU Codename), Shinigami of the Leaf, Kami no Shinobi**_

_**Affiliation:**_

_**Konohagakure no Sato**_

_**Weapon/s Used:**_

_**A standard Katana with a black sheath with a dark purple hilt with bronze diamonds as designs, the circular guard that separates the handle from the blade depicts fire surrounding the figure of a dragon from the base of the hilt.**_

_**Abilities:**_

_**Ninjutsu: 5/5***_

_**Taijutsu: 5/5**_

_**Kenjutsu: 5/5****_

_**Genjutsu: 2.5/5*****_

_**Intelligence: 5/5**_

_**Strength: 5/5**_

_**Speed: 5/5******_

_**Stamina 5/5**_

_**Hand-seals: N/A*******_

_**Total: 37.5/40**_

_***Ninjutsu techniques used by Kurosaki Ichigo are totally unique that has a variety of effects. From restraining, to jutsus that can vaporise anyone hit by it. One of his jutsu has enough power to thin out the Samurai rebels by an impressive degree during the Civil War in Tetsu no Kuni.**_

_****His skills in kenjutsu far surpass the skills of the famed Samurai General Mifune. Has been noted to win against Mifune and his second best sword user in a 2 on 1 spar with both both Mifune and his partner going all out and him countering each one with him only using a hand on his katana when doing that.**_

_*****Known to have never cast a genjutsu. There are also no solid facts if he even has knowledge on how to cast a genjutsu. However, he can break through even the most difficult double-layered genjutsu with ease.**_

_******His natural speed is far above high- Jōnin level and can close distance between him and his enemy quickly. His speed technique on the other hand, is faster than the Hiraishin of the infamous **__**Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō. He also has the ability to move so fast he can leave after-images of himself to fool his enemy that their attacks have hit him.**_

_*******Due to his unique ninjutsus, he does not use hand-seals. However, instead of hand-seals he uses incantations to mould the jutsu he will be using in battle. However, there are reports that most of the time he only uses the name of the jutsu and the effect is still the same as when he uses the incantation. We can only speculate that the incantation that he recites simply empowers the jutsu to a higher degree and abandoning it weakens the jutsu somewhat. Be warned however, that even when he abandons the incantation, the results of his jutsus are still devastating to anyone targeted or hit by it.**_

_**Threat Level:**_

_**SS Rank***_

_***Second person in history to receive a double S-Rank status, with Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō being the first to receive it.**_

_**Approach Status:**_

_**Flee at Sight**_

_**Standing Bounties:**_

_**500,000,000 **__**ryō Alive (Iwagakure and Kumogakure)**_

_**250,000,000 **__**ryō Dead (Iwagakure and Kumogakure)**_

_**100,000,000 ryō Alive or Dead (Otogakure)**_

_Naruto cannot believe it, his aniki is on the same level as his now second hero the Yondaime. Ichigo just laughed at Naruto's slack-jawed look. The look really does make him crack up. Naruto just pouts but suddenly spoke up._

"_Nii-san! I will reach your level and become as great as you and create my own legend, dattebayo!" exclaimed Naruto. Ichigo looked at his determined otouto with fondness and pride and promised to help him achieve of being the third person to have a double S-Rank status in the Bingo Books._

**END FLASHBACK**

* * *

It was also during this time that Naruto met his second aniki. Hatake Kakashi. This man is his nii-san's best friend during his time in the ANBU Corps. They first met when he was trying the Bunshin Jutsu that he learned from spying a higher class when they were discussing the requirements for graduating from the Academy. He was very thankful that his adoptive aniki has a jutsu section in the library that contains some Katon, Raiton, and Fūton jutsus as well as some supplementary jutsus. Upon learning the hand-seals for the Bunshin no Jutsu he tried it at the backyard of his home and was disappointed to see he made a crap-ton of clones that looks like they will be dead from a terrible illness. He dispelled them and tried again, he did not notice that his aniki and his guest were watching him in amusement.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

_Ichigo was talking to Kakashi about him returning back to the force after raising Naruto properly for 3 years already. Naruto is already responsible enough to watch over himself, but Ichigo has having second thoughts on whether to return now or a few months before Naruto graduates. As they were talking they heard Naruto shout a jutsu. Ichigo allows Naruto to use jutsus at the backyard, provided it did not destroy the surroundings heavily. So far Naruto has mastered some supplementary jutsus like Shunshin no Jutsu to help him speed up travel time._

"_Dammit! I cannot make a stable enough Bunshin! I'll never graduate if I cannot perfect this jutsu." shouted the frustrated ninja. Ichigo and Kakashi stepped outside and decided to observe Naruto fail in creating perfect bunshin clones._

"_Hey Kakashi, why don't you teach Naruto some advanced control exercises for his chakra? His lack of control is one of the reasons why he sucks in genjutsu or any low-powered techniques. Plus his massive chakra reserves as well." commented Ichigo_

"_I could, but we Jōnin's are not allowed to show favouritism. You know that Ichigo." retorted the copy-nin_

"_I know. But can you teach Naruto. I'll owe you a favour you can cash later." offered Ichigo. Kakashi mulled over the offer by his only best friend after all of his teammates and sensei died. Upon further thought, he agreed. Having one of the most powerful shinobi alive owe you a favour is not something to be discarded hastily._

"_Maa... Sure, I'll teach him a few tricks. I expect you deliver on your promise." said Kakashi. Ichigo just chuckled and nodded his head in reassurance._

**END FLASHBACK**

* * *

Since that fateful meeting, Naruto was able to control his massive chakra reserves better. However, even with both tree-walking and water-walking under his belt, he still cannot use the Bunshin no Jutsu, so Kakashi taught him the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He had difficulty using the right amount of chakra at first, but later got a hang of it. He shocked both Kakashi and his aniki when he created a dozen of madly grinning Naruto and not succumb to chakra exhaustion. After the training session, the trio adjourned for dinner and Naruto and Kakashi got to know each other better. This resulted in a close brother relationship growing between them. He hopes that Kakashi or Ichigo will be his Jōnin-sensei. He was broken out of his musing when stomping can be heard outside the classroom. He prepared himself when the door was suddenly slammed open and shows the triumphant faces of the Academy's number one fangirls: Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino.

"Ha! I am first Ino-pig!" screeched the paink-haired banshee

"Shut up forhead! I was first!" screamed back Ino. They both got in each other's faces and glared at each other to oblivion. They ignored each other and searched for their quarry: Uchiha Sasuke, the 'last' loyal Uchiha of the Leaf.

Naruto always notices that Sasuke always sits beside him during class, and figured out early on that he is using him to be his 'human shield' against his fangirls. Since then, Naruto always change seats when the two class banshees comes crashing in. He quickly got up and sat next to his best friend, Nara Shikamaru. Shikamaru is the son of Konoha's top strategist, Nara Shikaku, and one of the laziest people that Naruto has the pleasure of knowing. He sat beside him in time to hear his patented 'troublesome' phrase when describing something. Soon the bell rang and their sensei, Umino Iruka and Mizuki, entered the room both carrying a stack of papers.

"Alright class…" started Iruka, when he saw that no one is listening, he performed his patented Demon Head Jutsu, "EVERYONE SHUT UP!" shouted Iruka. It got every one's attention and started explaining that one must pass a written, taijutsu, weapons, and ninjutsu tests. Once everything was cleared, the written exams were administerd. Naruto found the subtle genjutsu placed on his papers by his silver-haired teme of a sensei and dispelled it discreetly. He answered the test adequately and waited for the rest to finish.

After everyone has finished, they proceeded to the training area for the taijutsu and weapon's throwing test, Naruto performed admirably well on these two test and passed it with flying colours. They proceeded inside for the ninjutsu portion and waited for his turn. After patiently waiting for everyone else to finish, he was called and stand at the centre of the room.

"Alright Naruto, perform the Henge please." ordered Iruka. Naruto did so without hand-seals and transformed into the ANBU gear of his nii-san complete with the mask, making the two chūnin shiver in fear due to the infamous reputation of the man Naruto transformed into.

"Excellent Naruto, but why did you choose Shi as your image?" asked the still surprised Iruka. Naruto just rubbed his back sheepishly.

"I changed into that, because he's my aniki Iruka-sensei. I was adopted by him a few years ago by him." informed Naruto. It was not common knowledge that Naruto was adopted by the infamous 'Shinigami of the Leaf'. What was known to the public is that said shinobi protected Naruto. This piece of information shocked Iruka, and destroyed the plans of one Leaf traitor in hopes of manipulating the blonde.

"Okay… Moving on, perform the Kawarimi no Jutsu please." ordered Iruka. Naruto performed it by replacing himself with Mizuki. It shock Iruka due to Naruto's level in this skill. Normally if one is going to replace oneself with another person, one must overwhelm the latent chakra of the targeted person. He added bonus points to Naruto's record for the event.

"Very good Naruto, now perform a Bunshin and then you can graduate." asked Iruka whilst smiling at the blonde boy fondly. Naruto rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly and asked Iruka a question that shocked him.

"Ano… Iruka-sensei, can I use another Bunshin?" asked Naruto. Iruka was surprised but nodded nonetheless. As long as it is a Bunshin it is approved to use that. Naruto then formed a cross sign using his fingers and shouted

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **shouted Naruto. In a puff of smoke, two identical copies of Naruto appeared and smirked at the the shocked Academy-sensei before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"Wow! Using a B-rank forbidden kinjutsu, this deserves some bonus points. Congratulations Naruto! Please head over to the table there pick your very own hitai-ate. Naruto nodded excitingly and picked the black one to match his clothes and future ninja garments later. He then performed a shunshin to report to his aniki the good news.

* * *

**Time Skip: Evening**

Naruto was left all alone inside their home. His aniki left hours ago after treating him at Ichiraku's due to a delivery mission to the Fire Country Capital. Since no one is faster than Ichigo, Hokage-jiji assigned the mission to his nii-san. Since he graduated from the Academy, Ichigo also allowed him to peruse his jutsu collection in the library after finding out that his affinity is wind. Now here he is, sitting in the library, in front of the desk studying fūton jutsus. After memorising the necessary hand-seals he exited his big brother's library and went his way to the backyard to practice it. He was unable to do so, because his Kakashi-nii appeared in front of him in a swirl of smoke and leaves.

"Naruto, Hokage-sama requires your presence now." Kakashi informed him without any preamble.

"Okay nii-san. Let's go!" exclaimed an enthusiatic Naruto. Kakashi just nodded and placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder and left in a shunshin. They appeared moments later in front of a grim-faced Hokage.

"What's the problem jiji?" asked Naruto after he understood that something is terribly wrong, and that something involves him.

"Well Naruto, 2 hours ago someone stole the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing right from under our own very noses. The theft occurred when I was in a council meeting, with my ANBU here escorting me to the council chambers. How the perpetrator bypassed the protection seals, I do not know. However, upon investigation, it was determined it was you who stole the scroll." explained the Sandaime. The news shocked the young ninja. Someone is framing him by using his likeness to do the act.

"But I'm here jiji. I was alone in my home when Kakashi-nii fetched me moments ago. And if I was the one who stole the scroll, why would I be at home in the first place?" reasoned Naruto. Ever since being adopted by Ichigo, he learned how to be control his vaunted stamina. He also learned how to control his impulsivity, to make sure he can think things through logically. Since then, it granted him the 2nd spot in the Academy behind the Uchiha. He could have become the Rookie of the Year, but his nii-san told him to better hide your skills and have a trump card than becoming predictable.

"I know that Naruto-kun. With you here, implications that you are the one who stole the scroll will be baseless since I have 4 ANBU and 1 elite jōnin serving as witnesses. As of right now a squad of ANBU is currently tracking down the traitor to be apprehended." explained the Hokage. Naruto nodded his head in acceptance, but he cannot shake of the feeling he should defend his honor right now. He looked at the old Kage with determined eyes.

"I can help you in tracking the traitor jiji." exclaimed Naruto. Sarutobi was surprised by the suggestion and shook his head in the negative

"Naruto-kun, let the ANBU squad handle the criminal." advised the Hokage to his surrogate grandson. Naruto just shook his head stubbornly.

"I can handle it jiji. I have been training with Ichigo-nii since he adopted me." declared Naruto proudly. Realizing that time is of the essence, he bit his thumb and smeared it to the summoning tattoo on his shoulder and ran through the hand-seals Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram. He then slammed his hand on the ground and shouted out,

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **suddenly a puff of smoke a white tiger with black stripes appeared. It seemed to adjust to its surroundings first before its eyes landed on Naruto.

"**Oh hey Naruto-kun, it has been some time you summoned me. What can I help you with?"** the Tiger asked its summoner.

"Hi Kinto-chan. See someone used my likeness to steal an important scroll from Hokage-jiji, can you track down the scent and possible route that the thief took?" requested Naruto. The female tiger just nodded her head and started sniffing around. The Hokage coughed to get Naruto's attention.

"Naruto-kun, you never mentioned you have summons?" asked the Hokage accusingly, Naruto just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"The summons was a gift from aniki during my 10th birthday. It was one of the best days of my life jiji, I mean there are only few people who have summoning contracts." explained Naruto to the Hokage who nodded his head in acceptance. The Hokage proceeded to catch-up with his surrogate grandson, when a few minutes later, Kinto approached the one who summoned her and informed them of what she has gathered.

"The scent I've picked up is at least two hours old. It's faint but still there. I followed it to the window and determined it is heading towards the deep inside the forest. If you want to follow trail, you better do so now Naruto-kun before I lose the scent." explained and advised Kinto. Naruto nodded and prepared in hunting the thief. But before he can leave the Kage's office, the Sandaime got his attention.

"Be careful Naruto-kun, if you find the thief stall him or her. I will redirect the ANBU squad to your direction okay?" ordered the Sandaime. Naruto nodded and exited the tower, intent of capturing the one dirtying his name.

* * *

Naruto and Kinto are running through one of the lush and thick forest Konoha is famous for. They are running in search of the thief who broke inside the Hokage's office and stole the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing.

"Naruto-kun, I can smell the scent getting stronger, we are approaching the thief's location fast. Be alert now." advised Kinto. Naruto merely nodded and heightened his senses, ready at any unusual events occurring. They came upon a clearing and clearly saw the thief looking like Naruto, down to the whisker marks. However, the scent that the thief gave off was like the difference between night and day. Kinto returned to her home in the summoning world, for she was not a combat tiger, she is more of a information, reconnaissance, and tracking tiger.

"You there! Who are you and why have you used my likeness to steal the scroll? Speak now!" ordered Naruto in his most commanding voice. The thief just laughed and dispelled the henge. Naruto was not shocked at all to see it was that silver-haired teme of an Academy instructor that used his likeness. For someone to copy a likeness accurately, one must have comprehensive knowledge of the target.

"Finally show up here eh demon brat?" sneered the traitorous Academy sensei to a calm Naruto. Before Naruto can retort, a surprising newcomer arrived,

"Naruto?" started Iruka. Upon confirming it is indeed Naruto he continues, "why have you stolen the scroll Naruto?" asked a very serious Iruka. Mizuki just smirked smugly behind Iruka. Naruto, knowing this will get bad for him soon replied,

"Iruka-sensei! I did not steal the scroll, I was tracking the thief and found out that Mizuki-teme was the one who stole the scroll from Jiji's office!" explained Naruto. Mizuki sneered at the 'demon brat' and created a sob story to lay the blame on Naruto.

"How I can be the one who stole the scroll Iruka? The reports flying around the village it was the demon brat who stole the scroll. I just got here to confront this brat and return the scroll to the Hokage." said Mizuki. However, Naruto pointed out something that is wrong with the Mizuki's story.

"If you are going to retrieve the scroll, then why do you have a wound on your calf muscles, when it is very simple that no wet behind the ears genin can make a drop on you?" asked Naruto to the now scowling Mizuki.

"I have no time to deal out bullshit lies right now. But I do have information on why you are hated Naruto." states Mizuki sweetly to the now confused boy.

"No! It is forbidden Mizuki! You cannot say it!" shouted Iruka, but it was already too late.

"12 years ago, the Kyuubi did not die like you believed. You never wonder why the people are calling you demon brat? Simple it is because the Kyuubi was sealed in you! You are Kyuubi reborn!" exclaimed Mizuki, hoping to break the boy mentally and emotionally. It seems to be successful and saw that Naruto hung his head down.

"Time to die Kyuubi!" shouted Mizuki and threw a large windmill shuriken at Naruto. Naruto, still in shock about the news did not move at all.

The sound of metal piercing flesh sounded all over the clearing. Naruto looked up to see Iruka smiling down on him fondly with blood running down his mouth.

"Why sensei? I'm a demon aren't I? Why did you save me?" asked a sobbing Naruto to his fallen sensei.

"You were never a demon Naruto. You are a bundle of joy, and a human being that I have come to see as my little brother as well." smiled Iruka. Naruto just nodded his head, thanking Kami that he was not seen as a demon by his favourite sensei. Mizuki took this time to interfere.

"Enough of this disgusting show, Iruka may have saved you from the shuriken, but next time there will be no one here that will take the blow for you." sneered Mizuki and prepared to throw a kunai at the demon brat. However before he can throw a kunai; someone appeared in the clearing and made his presence known to both of them.

"So you are the teme who hurt my otouto eh." said the voice. Both Naruto and Mizuki looked at the direction where the voice came from and felt awe and fear respectively. They both saw Ichigo, his katana drawn with a look in his eyes that promises pain on whoever has managed to piss him off. And in this scenario Mizuki pissed Ichigo off by hurting his otouto.

"So the legendary Shinigami of the Leaf made his presence known. I am honoured that the Hokage has sent you to apprehend me. It seems that only you have the chance to restrain me." boasted Mizuki arrogantly. Ichigo just snorted in looked at Mizuki condescendingly.

"I did not came here in official capacity you brain-addled fool. I just got back from my mission and was surprised to find that Naruto stole the scroll but was later briefed by the Hokage about the real story. I requested that I am the one to apprehend you. I hear everything you said Mizuki and saw how my otouto cried. Let me show why I am one of the deadliest shinobi right now." said Ichigo before he disappeared from the clearing, much to the shock and awe of Naruto and the fear of Mizuki. He has heard of the tales where Ichigo will simply just disappear, and his technique is faster than the Hiraishin without the need for a special marker. Those who have been his enemies will just see him disappear and then death comes to them swiftly. He frantically looked around the clearing and saw no trace of Ichigo. He was about to take advantage of the situation when he heard the most chilling voice in his entire life.

**"Sajō Sabaku!"** intoned Ichigo coldly. Chains made of spiritual energy emerged from his back and wrapped around Mizuki tightly, rendering his use of his limbs fairly useless at this point. He fell to the ground like a tied up hog at the mercy of a cold-blooded butcher. He also saw the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing being held by Ichigo.

"Consider yourself honoured Mizuki, this is the first time I will unleash my Zanpakutō. I will show you, why you should have never crossed the Kurosaki family." said Ichigo.

'**Finally after 12 years, you release me. The last time you did was against that Vasto Lorde in Heuco Mundo. Regardless, I have become fond of that gaki and for fools like him to hurt Naruto regardless whether it is physical or emotional is unacceptable' **commented his partner, Ryūjin Jakka.

'True. It is better to stave off any potential threats that will come towards Naruto because of my infamy.' replied Ichigo on the situation on hand. He then readied himself to release his partner from his sealed state. In doing so however, the spiritual pressure increased dramatically, since it is not directed on anyone or anything neither Mizuki nor Naruto felt that much heavy weight on their shoulders. Thankfully, Iruka has already passed out due to the injury he got from being struck with a large shuriken.

* * *

**Hokage Tower:**

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, has heard everything from the very beginning. He was furious at Mizuki for not abiding his law and hurting a fellow Leaf shinobi. He was reserving the day after the graduation to tell Naruto about his burden with Ichigo being there to help Naruto emotionally. But now the cat is out of the bag so to speak, Mizuki's life is now forfeit.

He was also interested with the statement that Ichigo made about him releasing a zanpakutō. Sarutobi knew of zanpakutō, since there are legendary swords able to harm the soul as well as the body. It was also known to have some form of sentience and augments its wielder's powers four times the amount. So now with his interest further piqued, he focused on the images playing in his crystal ball. This event will serve to give him ammunition for him to use against Ichigo to succeed him as Godaime Hokage. He then felt the spiritual pressure and increase of temperature in his office. Considering this is Ichigo, he knew for a fact that the entire village will be feeling it. He cursed his potential successor mentally due to the added paperwork he will need to finish by next day.

* * *

**ANBU Squad tracking the Thief (Before Ichigo confronts Mizuki):**

Boar, Neko, Hawk, and Tenzo. These four ANBU members are the squad assigned to track down the thief. They have been running around the village searching for clues on possible locations of the thief when they were intercepted by Hatake Kakashi.

"Hokage-sama orders you to return to the tower for new information regarding the Scroll incident." ordered Kakashi in a crisp and commanding voice.

"Hai Taichou!" responded the squad. Regardless of whether Kakashi is ANBU now or not, he was still their sempai and taichou in the ANBU Corps. They all disappeared in a standard leaf shunshin and appeared at the Hokage's office talking to another former ANBU taichou, the infamous Ichigo Kurosaki. Neko and Tenzo were both surprised since, last they heard their former taichou and sensei is living the civilian life raising Naruto properly, to see him wearing his trademark jōnin outfit plus haori and his aura of dominating power brought nostalgic thoughts about their time under him. They are extremely grateful for his teachings since right now, both of them are some of the best ANBU in service right now, and they will not achieve it without the help of the man standing in front of them. He seemed to notice them, but finished reporting to their leader before facing them.

"Neko, Tenzo, Boar, Hawk, and Inu." greeted the retired Taichou curtly. Kakashi just rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Nice to see you back Shi." returned Kakashi. Ichigo just maturely stuck his tongue out as a reply.

"Taichou!" acknowledge the ANBU squad. Boar and Hawk are fairly new to the Corps, but the man before them is a legendary figure in ANBU as one of the greatest to ever grace the Corps.

"No need to be formal. I'll go to where my otouto is right now. The Hokage is going to brief you on that. However, if you want to see a firework show, you may come as well." stated Ichigo before he disappeared. Both Neko and Tenzo are still awed by the skill of their Taichou, whilst Boar and Hawk, cannot help but gawk at the speed of the Shinigami of the Leaf. It is a good thing that they have their masks on to hide their faces. The Hokage coughed to get their attention.

"Ichigo is right; he is currently on his way to confront the thief at the forest." explained the Hokage. From there new information on who the real thief was revealed and their current location. They were also informed that Mizuki will be executed personally by Ichigo for breaking his law. Tenzo and Neko both nodded to each other and left towards the forest to see their taichou in action. Boar and Hawk just followed their seniors towards the forest. It was also a chance of a lifetime to see a legendary figure in action.

They are almost there when both Neko and Tenzo felt the familiar pressure their taichou exudes when he is angry or annoyed at someone or something. Boar and Hawk were not fairing any better because they never have experienced this kind of pressure before. Regardless, they continued their journey and perched themselves on a tree overlooking the clearing where Mizuki was tied by yellow chains made of energy and the former taichou looking at the down man in disdain. What he did next, was forever burned into their minds forever.

* * *

**Back to Ichigo**

Ichigo, sensed the arrival of the ANBU squad he met earlier, and shrugged his shoulders mentally before focusing on Mizuki again.

"**Banshō Issai Kaijin to Nase, Ryūjin Jakka!"** what happened next resulted in different reactions from the witnesses. Ichigo's body was covered by a shroud of fire whilst a firestorm of veritable power scorched everything in its path. The pillar of fire continued to climb up and scorch the sky and its clouds. Naruto, Mizuki, the ANBU, Sarutobi, and Kakashi have different reactions to the event happening in front of them.

'_Wh-what power! This is what taichou is keeping restrained?' _were the thoughts of Neko and Tenzo about their taichou's display of his skills.

'_What kind of shinobi is he? This is more potent than Hokage-sama's Killing Intent' _were the thoughts of Boar and Hawk on the display in front of them

'_Oh boy… The paperwork will be a nightmare tomorrow. But what power! I'm sure now; Ichigo will succeed me after the Chūnin Exams. But how to trick Ichigo into the position, hmm…' _schemed the Hokage in hopes of retiring again and enjoy his Icha-Icha in peace.

'_I know Ichigo came from another world after being trained as a Shinigami by the Soul King's Royal Guard, or in this word THE Shinigami's Royal Guard. To hear his prowess is one thing, to see it first hand is another level. Damn! I should tread carefully not to annoy him or even angering him. Especially with Naruto in my team, hopefully I will be able to restrain the Uchiha and the pink-haired girl.' _thought the copy-ninja.

They were feeling the weight of the spiritual pressure bearing down upon them like a boulder placed on your shoulders. Well that was everyone felt, but to Mizuki it is far worse, it felt like the sun is on his shoulders burning his slowly and painfully. He can only scream in pain due to the heat. Thanks to Ichigo's mastery of Ryūjin Jakka and his masterful reiatsu control, he can affect only those he really wants to affect by his reiatsu. While he cannot remove the bearing weight completely He can remove the burning effects of Ryūjin Jakka from those who are not part of his shit list.

"Chūnin Mizuki, due to your blatant disregard of the Sandaime's law of never disclosing the nature of Naruto's burden, your sentence is immediate execution." stated Ichigo with a voice that is fit his station. However, Ichigo was not done yet.

"Personally, for hurting my otouto, you will burn slowly and painfully, until you are no more than ashes." said Ichigo coldly at the whimpering Mizuki.

"**Taimatsu!" **exclaimed the Shinigami of the Leaf. He swung his zanpakutō and watched as white hot flames rushed towards Mizuki sparing the plant life from destruction. Ichigo's control over this technique is so great that he can spare anything that is in the path of the flame with only the target being burned. He can also increase the intensity of the flame from normal orange-red combination to white hot flames that can rival the fires and heat of the sun.

Knowing that Mizuki will not survive the technique, basing from his screams of pain, he turned around and faced his adopted younger brother. He sheathed Ryūjin Jakka and walked towards Naruto. He cannot help but chuckle at Naruto's wide-eyed look because of what happened.

"Hey otouto, are you alright?" asked Ichigo softly, as he extracted the shuriken imbedded at Iruka and started on using healing kido at the man. The question also snapped Naruto's attention back to his surrogate older brother.

"Am I the Kyuubi Ichigo-nii." asked Naruto. Ichigo's head snapped up to look at at Naruto seriously.

"Naruto, I want you to get that thought out of your head okay? You are not the Kyuubi, you are Kurosaki-Uzumaki Naruto, by little brother, and Konoha's most unpredictable ninja. Those who say you are do not know the real you. The Naruto that always strive to become the best, the Naruto that always make me smile with his pranks. Remember that otouto okay? If someone calls you degrading names, ignore them and walk away, do not step to their level, you are just letting them control your life. Understood Ruto?" asked Ichigo softly to his brother who is sobbing right now. Naruto just nodded and hugged his brother very tightly after he finished healing the still unconscious Iruka. Ichigo just patted Naruto's hair and whispered encouraging things to him. After Naruto has settled down, he called their live audience to wrap things up. The traitor has finished screaming and was reduced to nothing more than ashes.

"ANBU" called Ichigo authoritatively, said ANBU operatives dropped in front of the retired ANBU taichou.

"Take this scroll to Hokage-sama and inform him that Naruto and I will be visiting him tomorrow regarding this event. This has been one roller coaster of a day. Also, one of you, bring Umino Iruka to the hospital for further evaluation of his injuries. Dismissed." ordered Ichigo. While he may no longer part of ANBU his authoritative voice did not show room for any insubordination, and judging from what they saw earlier, it is better not to piss of someone who can turn you into ash by just a swing of his sword.

"Let's go home otouto. I'm exhausted, and I know you are as well." ordered Ichigo, Naruto just nodded with a smile, happy that his aniki never looked or treated him like the other villagers.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Hōgyoku** - The Crumbling Orb

**Goteijūsantai** - The Gotei 13 or The 13 Court Guard Squads

**Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō** - Final Getsuga Tenshō

**Mugetsu** - Moonless Sky

**Zanpakutō - **Soul Cutter

**Ōzokutokumu - **The Royal Guard

******Mikazuki no Mai - **Dance of the Crescent Moon

**Oni Dekopin - **Oni Headpoke

******Byakurai - **Hado no.4: Byakurai, a low-level Hado spell that sends thin bolt of lightning to create precision attacks.

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - **Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, a staple of the Uchiha Clan where one kneads their own chakra to create a ball of condensed fire or create a continuous stream of fire.

**Shakkahō - **Hado no.31: Shakkahō, a mid-level Hado spell that creates a basketball sized sphere of spiritual energy that can be launched as a single attack or a continuous stream of red spiritual energy.

**Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu **- Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, a low-level earth release jutsu that involves the user sinking into the ground and getting behind their enemy and dragging them underground until their head is the only thing sticking out of the ground.

******Rikujōkōrō - **Bakudo no.61: Rikujōkōrō, a high-level Bakudo wherein the caster fires six thin beams of yellow spiritual energy to bind their opponents midsection, making movement impossible.

**Dankū - **Bakudo no.81: Dankū, a high level Bakudo that solidifies spirit particles in front of the user to create a transparent, yet durable and solid barrier to protect attacks that range from Hado no.89 and below.

******Kurohitsugi -** Hado no.90: Kurohitsugi, a high-level Hado that produces a torrent of gravity bending box of pure spiritual energy. Each visible side of the box has multiple spear-like protrusions littering it. Simultaneously the spears will pierce the box, lacerating everything trapped inside, causing massive damage.

**********Kuchiyose no Jutsu - **Summoning Technique

**************Sajō Sabaku - **Bakudo no.63: Sajō Sabaku, user creates chains or threads of yellow spiritual energy to bind their target tightly to prevent movement.

**Banshō Issai Kaijin to Nase, Ryūjin Jakka! - **Shikai release command of Ichigo's new Zanpakutō.

**Taimatsu - **Shikai ability of Ryūjin Jakka where a stream of fire is released every time the sword is swung. Will burn anything until ashes remains. Power and Intensity can be controlled by the user of the technique.


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:  
AUTHOR OF THIS FANFIC DOES NOT OWN BLEACH OR NARUTO IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER. THESE TWO GREAT IP'S ARE PROPERTY OF TITE KUBO AND MASASHI KISHIMOTO RESPECTIVELY. I DO NOT WHATSOEVER ALSO USE THIS FANFIC TO GAIN ANY FORM OF REVENUE AS WELL.**

**NOTE:**

**A poll is posted on my account page regarding:**

**Story Arc for Chapter 3 and possibly Chapter 4 (Land of Waves Arc will continue on Chapter 5)**

**Shinigami of the Leaf: Team Selections, the Bell Test, and the Land of Waves Arc Part I**

* * *

**Time Skip: Morning after Forbidden Scroll Incident**

**Hokage Tower**

Sitting behind the oak table is the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Currently, he is battling his most deadly foe: Paperwork. This day has more paperwork than normal due to the amount of inquiries or complaints due to the release of Ichigo's zanpakutō known as Ryūjin Jakka. The Hokage could not help but be awed again by the firestorm unleashed by their most powerful shinobi. He could see how fitting the title 'Hokage' will be if he can trick or blackmail Ichigo in the position. No such luck yet on his plans. However, the revelation yesterday has caused the Hokage to frown in worry on the mental and emotional state of his surrogate grandson. He received the message that Ichigo and Naruto will be visiting him later to clear things up and hopefully avoid the possible disaster of Naruto snapping and become like the infamous jinchūriki of Suna; Subaku no Gaara and go on a killing spree on everyone that has hurt him in the past. He can only hope that such an event will never happen.

Knowing that overthinking things will just cause him due stress, he picked up a pencil and looked at the innocent paperwork that is sitting on his table mocking him. He can swear to Kami that the paperwork grew a little more during his musings. He can only do one thing and curse his late successor, the Yondaime.

"DAMN YOU MINATOOOO!" cursed the Sandaime.

* * *

**Kurosaki Household**

Naruto woke up with a headache. Last night's events shook the core of his world. Knowing the real reason why the people hate him brought an ache to the heart of our blonde ninja. He was also forever thankful to his aniki, one Kurosaki Ichigo, for being there for him and never looking at him like a thing or worse the Kyuubi reborn. Since being broody and emo-like will never help him in the long run, he heaved himself of his comfortable bed and went inside the bathroom to do his morning rituals. He also hoped that news of his burden will never reach the ears of his friends for fear of losing them due to the Kyuubi imprisoned inside of him.

In another part of the house, Kurosaki Ichigo woke up from his sleep and finished his morning rituals. He went to the kitchen and prepared for breakfast. Upon doing said task, he cannot help but think back at what happened last night at the clearing. The very world of Naruto was broken so ruthlessly that he cannot help but to wish for that teme of a traitor to be alive again and again, with him casting all of the Hado spells he knew and let the man know the true meaning of pain. Upon arriving home last night, Naruto opened the floodgates again and sobbed on the realisation that his hero, the Yondaime has cursed him to this lonely existence. Ichigo provided emotional support to his badly shaken brother, whispered reassuring words, and giving advice to young Naruto. Naruto and he will be visiting the aged Hokage later so Naruto can get the full story on what happened 12 years ago during his birthday. He was broken out of his thoughts by the entrance of his brother and smell of burning omelettes. He quickly removed pan from the stove to prevent it burning more. He turned to his brother and greeted him.

"Ohayo Naruto. How are you feeling?" asked Ichigo with concern colouring his tone. He finished his cooking and set up the table for breakfast.

"Ohayo Ichigo-nii, I'm still shaken up a bit, but a lot better than last night. Thanks for being there for me and never looking at me differently regardless of my tenant." stated Naruto sincerely. He smiled at the boy fondly and ruffled his hair.

"Maa… let's get out of this depressing mood and eat. I've made your favourite, aside from ramen to cheer you up Ruto." said Ichigo and watched as Naruto smiled a little and started eating. Ichigo just smiled at his otouto's reaction. It was a bit better than yesterday. Soon this drama will be over, and Naruto will be back to his old cheery self.

* * *

**Time Skip: Afternoon**

**Hokage Tower**

The Sandaime has just finished today's batch of paperwork. He prepared himself for the discussion of a lifetime. Just as he was about to ask his secretary if both Ichigo and Naruto have arrived, a knock on his door interrupted him.

"Come in!" ordered the Sandaime. Upon opening, the figures of both his appointees are shown.

"Ah Naruto-kun and Ichigo-san, please come in and make yourself comfortable. I sense we will have a long afternoon." invited the old Kage. Both of his guests accepted the invitation gracefully and proceeded to make both of them comfortable.

"ANBU leave us!" ordered the Hokage crisply. After making sure that no outsiders or unwanted persons are within hearing range of his office, the Hokage went through some hand-seals and activated the silencing and privacy jutsus of his office.

"Naruto, what you have inside of you was the effort of the Yondaime in hopes of saving the village and seeing you as the hero." started the elder Sarutobi. Naruto just nodded and remained quiet.

"After the sealing, news spread fast among the Konoha Council of your status as Kyuubi's jailor. I tried to protect you then by passing an S-rank law that forbid anyone that is not in the know to spread, talk, gossip, or even think of your status as Kyuubi's jinchūriki. Now, a civilian council member has spread the news that you are the so called 'Kyuubi incarnate' to some shinobis that have lost their loved ones during its rampage on the village. Rest assured however, that said council member was executed publicly in front of many witnesses. However, the damage has been done. The public execution may have stopped the villagers from attempting to harm you in such a young age, but the hate has festered to the point it has passed way breaking point. As soon as you have started walking and talking, the villagers decided to 'finish' what the Yondaime has started and kill you, and through your death, the death of Kyuubi." explained Sarutobi forlornly.

He stopped from recanting after seeing Naruto sobbing quietly, but heavily. Ichigo just embraced his adopted younger brother, his narrowed eyes and barely contained rage clearly visible in his brown eyes. Ichigo continued reassuring his brother and promised that he will never be alone again. Sarutobi just give them all the time they needed to compose themselves, especially Naruto. After a few minutes of Naruto releasing all of his grief and controlling it, did Sarutobi continued with his tale.

"It all started with the glares and the sneers. However, as time progressed it became much worse. I've upped the punishment on the law; it still did not deter the people of what they think of you. I have tried to let someone adopt you, but the civilian council has been blocking my attempts for your adoption. However that changed when your Ichigo-nii has witnessed an attack on you when you are 7 years old." told the Hokage. It got a small smile of happiness from Naruto and a look of protectiveness and fondness from the Shinigami of the Leaf. Sarutobi continued with his tale since this was one of the most important turning points in Naruto's life.

"The day you were found by Ichigo, was also the day that Ichigo learned about the horrific life you have led. On that day itself, you Naruto became the adopted otouto of Kurosaki Ichigo." finished the Sandaime. Naruto just looked at his nii-san gratefully and with adoration. However, the Hokage was not done yet. Sarutobi stood up and approached where the brothers were sat, and surprised them by bowing on the ground and muttered:

"Kurosaki-Uzumaki Naruto, please forgive me for my short-sightedness, I have only wanted what was best for you, and yet it did the opposite." apologized the Hokage. Naruto just sat there slacked jawed at what his surrogate grandfather is doing. Ichigo just nodded at him encouragingly, and looked at him silently saying that it is his decision what to do with the Hokage's apology.

"Ano… Jiji, stand up. I have forgiven you already. I know you kept this from me, because you believe it will damage me mentally or emotionally. Rest assured I am not. Thanks to the support I got from you, Ichigo-nii, Kakashi-nii, and Iruka-sensei." stated Naruto embarrassingly scratching the back of his head. The Sandaime stood up from his position and hugged the boy.

"Thank you Naruto, for putting me at ease with myself." murmured the Hokage with sincerity and relief. The Hokage backed away from his grandson and made his way back to his seat.

"Now that you know Naruto, what else do you wish to know?" asked the Hokage. Naruto looked unsure for a while before looking at the Hokage straight in the eye.

"When will you tell me Jiji about my father being the Yondaime?" asked Naruto calmly and firmly. Hiruzen paled and Ichigo looked shocked that his brother was able to deduce his parents without anyone telling him. Sarutobi recomposed himself and voice the thought plaguing his mind about the revelation.

"H-how did you know that your father was the Yondaime?" asked the Hokage. Naruto just smiled sheepishly at him for a moment before explaining himself to the Sandaime.

"Well it is not very hard to deduce, I just found out about in yesterday. Aside from the obvious physical attributes like the blonde hair and blue eyes, which there are only two possible options for this: the Yamanaka clan or the Yondaime. The final piece of the puzzle was: Who will the Yondaime Hokage trusts the most when it comes to guarding the Kyuubi? The answer is simple, his son of course. You can thank Ichigo-nii for teaching me to think through everything that is presented to me, and never letting any amount of useful information to waste." said the grinning Naruto, with Ichigo grumbling about 'cheeky brats'. The Hokage just shook his head in response.

"Naruto-kun, I must ask you; what are your feelings towards your late father?" asked the Sandaime. He was worried Naruto will be resenting him for the rest of his life. Although, he cannot hope to change the boy's mind once he has settled for something, it is best to know if he needs to avoid talking about Minato with Naruto around.

"To be honest jiji, I really don't know how to feel about him. At first I was extremely angry at him for damning me to this fate, but I then realised that it will lead me to nowhere. I then examined my options and found that being simply apathetic to his existence is most preferable. I can thank him for being my progenitor, but after that, I am simply apathetic to his existence. I may not hate him, but I simply do not care if he lives or dies. He is just simply another person to me. This disposition of mine may change with time jiji, but I cannot guarantee anything right now." explained Naruto. Ichigo shot him a concerned but understanding look, but Sarutobi decided to at least try and change the boy's mind. However before he can open his mouth to voice his reply, Naruto continued on.

"I know you will try at least to change my view of him, but I cannot see him as my loving father. He may be my biological father, but Ichigo-nii-san here has filled the spot of being a proper tou-san quite admirably. As I said earlier, I cannot guarantee my apathetic disposition towards him will remain or change overtime. I am saying no more on this matter." declared Naruto firmly. Sarutobi just gave a resigned sigh of acceptance and nodded his head. Naruto, on the other hand, felt somewhat free, he cannot explain it, but after figuring out his emotions for his biological father, nothing really comes to mind at him. He may respect him as a great shinobi, but as a father; well there is more left to be desired. He knew that it may be too early to judge the late Yondaime, but to him 7 years of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse was already enough. He will try to see if his feelings about the Yondaime will change with time, but to be bothered about his feelings on his biological father is something he did not weighing him down right now.

"Well, since this is over, Naruto; team selection will happen a month later so that Iruka can properly recover from his injuries. I suggest you train for a while, so that your body will not get used to being lax. And judging from who your aniki is, I doubt you will get much rest because of his training regimen." advised the Hokage, he later hid a smirk at the shiver that went through Naruto. If there is also another legendary thing Ichigo was known for, it was his brutal tort-, training, methods.

After exchanging some more banal conversation with the Hokage, both Naruto and Ichigo left and returned to their home in comfortable silence. Naruto was thinking of enjoying his last moment of pure rest, whilst Ichigo was devising his otouto's torturous training regime that will fit in a month. It was also at this moment that Naruto felt a shiver of dread creep up his spine; he really did not want to know what his aniki will do to his training regimen, it is better to be ignorant for a few more hours.

* * *

**Time Skip: Morning **

**Kurosaki Backyard**

Naruto was undergoing his stretches for his first day of serious training with his nii-san. His previous training with his aniki is just to introduce the basics of the taijutsu and kenjutsu being used by his aniki to him. Since his other nii-san, Hatake Kakashi, will be a jōnin-sensei, he cannot ask for additional training on chakra control and ninjutsus anymore. His aniki promised him on finding him capable prospective sensei in those areas. So here he was now, apprentice to one infamous Kurosaki Ichigo in the way of hand-to-hand combat and kenjutsu. His nii-san promised to teach him a different style than what he saw in other Konoha shinobis. This promise alone made him giddy in excitement. However, he shook those thoughts away from him now. If there is one thing his nii-san hates, it is inattention. He better finish his stretches before his nii-san comes out and starts pushing or rather, starts kicking his ass, all around the backyard.

* * *

Ichigo woke up and finished his morning rituals. He ate a light breakfast to prepare himself training Naruto for a month. He stepped outside and was pleasantly surprised that his little brother is busy doing his stretches. He smiled proudly at him and waited for him to be noticed by his brother.

Naruto just finished his last set of stretches when he noticed that he was not alone in the backyard anymore. He turned around and saw his nii-san looking at him proudly. The look made him break out in a happy smile because the looks his brother is giving him always seems to tell that he can do it and nothing others say will change that. He then noticed his brother walking towards him casually with his hands inside his pockets, and before he knew it, Ichigo was already in front of him.

"Ohayo nii-san!" greeted Naruto cheerfully. Ichigo just nodded at his greeting and replied

"Ohayo ototuo, getting ready I see…" commented Ichigo. Naruto then noticed his aniki turn very serious.

"Good. Starting today you will start calling me sensei, understood?" commented Ichigo sternly. Naruto gulped and nodded his head in acceptance.

"Now, what I will teach you for the next four weeks will be taijutsu and kenjutsu. Since you have a total of 200 lbs. of extra weight thanks to those training weights I placed on you. It will be of great benefit to your strength and speed. I will add another 25 pounds on your weights to increase your natural strength and speed. In taijutsu, I will delve into the more advanced katas of my taijutsu style; same principle also applies in your kenjutsu training. The first two weeks will focus on taijutsu, whilst the last two will be focused on kenjutsu. Sundays are reserved for rest days understood?" listed Ichigo. Naruto just nodded again in understanding.

However he was worried suddenly because he will become overspecialised in two of the four branches he is aiming for: Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Fūinjutsu. He has a simple reason for attaining equal levels in the four branches of combat: Taijutsu and Kenjutsu because of his nii-san skills in it, Ninjutsu is because of his massive reserves, and finally Fūinjutsu due to his innate interest in it.

His interest in Fūinjutsu began when he stumbled upon a book of introductory seals in the library of his aniki and was instantly hooked to it. Sealing seems to come easy to him, and if what he read is true, sealing is one of the most complex, deadly, and useful field in the shinobi arts. Thanks to his calligraphy lessons he has started working on simple storage scrolls. The lack of reading material on the subject of sealing is one of the flaws in his nii-san's library, which said man promised to fix in the near future. Genjutsu is out of the question, since his massive reserves forbids him learning it. If he can find a genjutsu than have relatively high chakra requirements, then he can learn it. Finally his control exercises must continue, lest he want his chakra control to be shot to hell. Ichigo must have noticed his confused and worried expression and stated:

"Use shadow clones in practicing your Ninjutsus, Chakra Control, and Fūinjutsu." explained Ichigo. Naruto was startled and confused why his nii-san thought that clones could help. Ichigo just continued explaining.

"Shadow clones give its creator its experiences when dispelled. For example, if a clone works on chakra control all day then dispel, its experience on chakra control will be passed on to you. Lucky for you, your massive reserves can help you make a crap ton of clones to do multiple things simultaneously. However, and you better listen attentively, if you dispel large amounts of shadow clones at the same time, chances are you will become a vegetable residing in Konoha's Hospital forever due to a fried brain. So to reduce or remove the risk, you dispel your clones by batch with a five minute interval among each batch. Am I understood otouto?" explained Ichigo. Naruto was in awe on how useful the jutsu his Kakashi-nii taught him. However, that expression fell quickly when he realised how dangerous the technique is when abused. Naruto just nodded at his nii-san in understanding. Ichigo nodded his head and continued.

"Now Naruto, create 100 clones. 50 clones will work on your chakra control, 25 clones will work on ninjutsus and the last 25 will work on Fūinjutsu. Do it now." ordered Ichigo. Naruto nodded and put his hand in infamous cross sign and exclaimed:

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **suddenly, 100 perfect replicas of Naruto stood before their creator, waiting for his signal to start.

"You guys know what to do. Hop to it boys! Dispel one if you need additional manpower." ordered Naruto to his clones.

"**Hai Taichou!" **responded the clones as one and set off to work on their respective tasks.

"Alright Naruto, let us begin your training! Kukukuku…"stated Ichigo with a certain gleam of ruthlessness in his eyes making Naruto gulp and pray for his safety.

* * *

**Time Skip: A Month Later**

It has been a brutal month for Naruto; his temporary sensei does not know the word restraint. For the past month, his aniki has been drilling him into the ground with katas, a few theories here and there behind the moves taught to him, and a few strategies where he can apply the moves he learned from him. Physically, he has been battered and bruised but his extremely advanced healing factor and his aniki's healing kido spells are working wonders to his body. He goes to sleep stiff after a healing session from Ichigo, and wakes up fully refreshed.

However, it did not mean he did not learn anything from him. Aside from being a sadist of a sensei, he is also a very effective sensei, able to point out flaws immediately and teach theories in simple words, He also do not sugar coat or beat around the bush as well when saying something, pointing a flaw, or explaining a theory behind a move. He is just very blunt and direct. After the first two weeks, his aniki informed him that his skill in hand-to-hand combat is at least mid to high chūnin without his weights restricting his movements, low-chūnin if he does have weights. Experience in it was balanced by the number of times he was sparring with his aniki in a pure taijutsu match.

In kenjutsu, Naruto is thriving. It seems he has also taking kenjutsu like fish to water, but to a lesser degree than his innate talents in fūinjutsu. He has already started on some advanced kenjutsu moves, and he can say that he has an extremely long way to go if he wants to match his aniki in kenjutsu someday. It also during this time that he has gained a special katana from his aniki, the katana gifted to him came from Tetsu no Kuni. Originally, Naruto's katana was one of the rewards the Samurai General Mifune has given to his aniki. It was made from high quality chakra metal, but since Ichigo has Ryūjin Jakka, which to Naruto's opinion; the best katana out there, Ichigo gave the katana to Naruto to keep and use wisely.

Delving further with regards to his kenjutsu lessons, one of the skills his aniki is teaching him is Iaido which is the drawing of the sword from its scabbard and slicing his opponents extremely fast, removing the blood, and sheathing the sword in one movement. The result if properly done is a bifurcated enemy. So far Naruto has still trouble performing the slice, since resistance from the target dummy means his swings are not powerful and fast enough. But his aniki told him that it takes time, patience, and practice to fully master it. To make Naruto train more in perfecting the Iaido, Ichigo promised him that if he masters the technique he will try to teach him Hitotsume: Nadegiri. Naruto, who is naturally confused, since he does not know what the technique is asked for a demonstration, Ichigo just grinned at him mischievously and asked Naruto to step aside and watch him. Naruto did so, and watch as his aniki placed his left hand on Ryūjin Jakka's scabbard and used his thumb to release the katana from the lock. Ichigo then placed his right hand on Ryūjin Jakka's hilt and drew the blade extremely fast before sheathing it with a click. Naruto face-faulted and was about to berate his aniki when he heard sounds of crashing, looking towards the sound, he saw multitude of trees from the forest beyond their yard falling like they have been snapped in half like twigs.

Shock that was the only thing Naruto felt when the effects of his aniki's technique took place. Ichigo just laughed at Naruto's dumbfounded look and told him that Iaido, for Ichigo, is just a toddler's version of his move. Naruto just nodded and steeled his resolve to learn his aniki's killing technique.

Thanks to his massive chakra reserves, and liberal use of shadow clones, he is doing great progress in the fields of ninjutsu, chakra control, and fūinjutsu. He is already studying expert level seals and started creating his own storage scrolls and exploding tags. Since he did not need to buy sealing scrolls and exploding tags, he is able to save money.

In ninjutsu, since his brother's library is 80% jutsus of every element, he was able to train his wind affinity to the fullest. He learned some C to A-rank Fūton jutsus like **Fūton: Daitoppa**, **Fūton: Kami Oroshi**, and **Fūton: Renkūdan**. He also trained in using fire jutsus, since his learning curve in wind release jutsus are impressive, and since he wants some form of trump card against his opponents in the form of collaboration jutsus thanks to his liberal use of shadow clones. His skills in Katon jutsus are growing steadily and he now learns some C-class Katon jutsus that will jump to B or A-rank if combined with his Fūton jutsus. Some of his Katon jutsus are **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**, **Katon: Karyūdan**, and **Katon: Endan**. However, he also learned some non-elemental jutsus as well. Two of these non-elemental jutsus are the **Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** and the **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. Naruto uses his time during Sundays to go to abandoned training grounds and practice these jutsus after his clones learned at able to use it efficiently.

* * *

**Academy Classroom: Team Selection Day**

It is team selection day. Naruto is excited. He hoped that his nii-san will be his jōnin-sensei, but his aniki informed him that he will not be a jōnin-sensei because he does not use chakra. That piece of news made Naruto sad a little but perked up when Ichigo informed him that his Kakashi-nii may become his future team's jōnin-sensei. He snapped out of his thoughts and walked inside the academy.

During the past month, his physical body underwent changes, one of them is his height, no longer is him the shortest in the academy. His strict diet under Ichigo made sure of that, plus his healing factor repairing his stunted growth made him as one of the tallest in the academy with a height of 5'4. His body also catered to both speed and power making lean, not scrawny anymore. He also is decked in a modified jōnin outfit courtesy of Ichigo giving it to him the night before.

His outfit consists of black long-sleeved shirt that is rolled up just above the wrists. He wears a modified green flak jacket, with three pockets on each side of the chest that contains his storage scrolls. The jacket is also plated on the inside, one at the front and one at the back with a highly durable and light steel He wears fingerless black gloves. The metal plates on the backside of the gloves have an imprinted swirl, signifying his long lost clan. He wears a highly durable black combat pants. On his right thigh is a strapped ninja pouch containing extra ninja tools and scrolls for backup. He wears steel-plated boots that completes his militaristic look. He also has his forehead protector on and strapped on his back is the katana gifted to him by Ichigo during his one-month torturous training sessions with him.

He brought of his musings when he opened the door to the classroom and felt all eyes on him. Outwardly, he remained indifferent to their stares. Inwardly, he was cackling up a storm since they believed he was still an orphan. Only Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and now Iruka learns the truth of him being Ichigo's adopted family member. With that in mind, he strode forward and sat on his customary place beside Shikamaru. Not long after sitting down, Shikamaru turned to him and commented:

"You are so troublesome Ruto…" stated the lazy Nara. Naruto just grinned at him and proceeded to wait for Iruka to start the announcement of teams. He tuned out Iruka's graduation speech since he has heard something similar already from his nii-san and Hokage-jiji so he does not need to listen to that kind of speech again.

"…I repeat to you graduating students: Congratulations!" finished Iruka. Naruto focused back on the man as he listed down the teams assigned by the Hokage.

"…Team 7 will be composed of Uchiha Sasuke…" all the fangirls tensed, waiting to be partnered to the Uchiha, the men, like Naruto, are indifferent to the Uchiha's placement. Sasuke has been shoving everyone away, they look at them like crutches or simpletons that is not worthy of his time. Naruto has long since rendered Sasuke's existence with indifference.

"…Haruno Sakura and…" Iruka was cut off when the pink banshee of Konaha has made herself known with her usual grating and annoying voice.

"Ha! I win Ino-pig!" screeched the banshee. Naruto just pulled out his ear plugs after the monstrosity has finished speaking. Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru glared at him for not helping them with the sound problem. That, and add the fact that Kiba and Akamaru's ears are violently ringing due to being highly sensitive, Shikamaru for being disrupted from his nap, and Chouji for dropping his bag of chips due to being startled. Iruka just performed his patented jutsu on the annoying girl.

"SHUT UP HARUNO AND LET ME FINISH SPEAKING!" shouted Iruka, silencing the worthless girl immediately. That was also one of the gripes that Naruto have with other students. Well mostly the female population. They are so weak that it is making Konoha look like a joke. Fangirls and shinobi or kunoichi are two words that should never be together in one sentence. When no one muttered a single word, a combination of a silent and suffering sigh escaped the scarred chūnin. He coughed lightly and continued.

"As I was saying: Team 7 will be composed of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Kurosaki-Uzumaki Naruto. Your jōnin-sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." announced Iruka. The majority of the class just stared at Naruto with confusion due to his added family name. All of one stared except for Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba who knows that Naruto's aniki is one of the deadliest shinobi alive in the Elemental Nations.

Naruto just ignored the stares and tuned off Iruka again after his team assignment. If there is one thing Naruto felt when it was revealed that his team consist of an avenger-emo and a useless excuse for a kunoichi, he was instantly disappointed. Knowing that him showing skills in battle in future missions will lead to Sasuke nagging him, with his number one fangirl backing him up every time. He was at least happy that his Kakashi-nii will be their sensei during their genin lives. Despite him tuning Iruka off, he heard and understood quickly that Team 8 will be composed of Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. Since Team 9 is still in circulation, it was skipped and Team 10 members were announced. The newest generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were part of this team, well only Shikamaru and Chouji will have no problem with each other, it is Ino that will be, as Shikamaru stated time and again, 'troublesome' and Naruto cannot agree more. Once all teams were announced, Iruka gave them another congratulatory gesture for graduating the academy and a good luck in their shinobi careers. He then dismissed the newly minted genin for lunch and ordered them to be back at the room after an hour for their respective sensei to pick them up.

* * *

Naruto, knowing that Kakashi will be at most 3 hours late, decided to start building rapport with his two teammates.

"Hey guys, want to eat at the BBQ restaurant or Ichiraku's? Let's get to know each other before meeting Kakashi-sensei…" suggested Naruto to his teammates. He waited for a reply and patiently. However, his patience was rewarded with a belittling remark from the 'last' Uchiha.

"I do not need to waste effort knowing you dobe." remarked Sasuke, with a smug smirk. Haruno, trying to appease his crush supported the remark of his 'Sasuke-kun'.

"YEAH, WHY DON'T YOU JUST SCRAM NARUTO-BAKA!" screeched the worthless banshee. Sasuke's ears dripped a bit of blood due to the banshee in close proximity to him, whilst Naruto just removed a pair of earplugs from his ears. Haruno understood the meaning and was about to shout at Naruto again, when said blonde just disappeared in a swirl of smoke and leaves. Both saw this and couldn't help but gape at the technique Naruto pulled. Sasuke just seethed and grit his teeth in jealously on what Naruto did do. Sakura just returned to asking the Uchiha for dates, with said Uchiha denying every advance she made at him.

Naruto disappeared in the room using **Shunshin no Jutsu** to taunt Sasuke mildly, and escape from the maddening screech the pink-haired banshee can unleash on him. Disappointed by the team's lack of professionalism, well Sasuke's and Haruno's professionalism, he decided to head home and grab lunch there. Seeing that his brother is out on a mission, Naruto just went straight to the kitched fixed him a light meal and enter the library to read a new advanced fūinjutsu book that his nii-san was able to procure in one village during one of his missions in his storied shinobi career.

* * *

**Time Skip: 3 Hours, 45 Minutes**

Naruto is currently having a casual walk towards the Academy, having foregone using the Shunshin jutsu again. He was currently organising everything he has read in the past 3 hours about seals. The sealing arts still manages to awe Naruto, after all the ability to seal objects inside a roll of scroll to imprisoning the tailed beasts in either organic or inorganic objects with just a few squiggles of lines that means nothing to anyone untrained in the arts is downright fascinating and awe-inspiring.

He was broken out from his musings upon arrival at the Academy. He walked leisurely towards the assignment room and opened the door. As expected, Kakashi is extremely late as well as him if he interprets the pending eruption from the banshee. Quickly and discreetly, he plugged a pair of earplugs to protect his precious hearing. The same cannot be the same for the avenger, because Haruno is practically sitting on top of him due to the closeness.

"YOU'RE LATE!" screeched the banshee. Naruto just eye-smiled at the enraged Haruno, completely careless about the steadily increasing rage the pink-haired girl is feeling right now. Naruto was spared however, when the door to the classroom opened and Kakashi showed his face to them. Naruto was not surprised since he has already felt Kakashi's chakra moments before he entered the room.

"Team 7?" asked the scarecrow ninja. Naruto just laughed inwardly at his nii-san's stupid question. However, before Kakashi can finish whatever he is planning on saying he was shouted by the pink-haired girl.

"YOU'RE LATE!" screeched the banshee. Naruto snickered when he saw a trail of blood leaving the ear of Sasuke that is nearest to Haruno. Kakashi just shook his head to clear the ringing of his ears due to the volume and pitch. Naruto just pulled out his earplugs; an action that got him a cheated look from Kakashi and a glare from the 'almighty' Uchiha. Kakashi decided to reply to Haruno's accusation.

"Maa… While I was walking towards the Academy, a black cat crossed my way, so I circled Konoha seven times so that bad luck will not bestow on me…" explained Kakashi, Naruto just looked at his nii-san incredulously because of the blatant and lame excuse. Haruno just voiced out the thoughts again of everyone using her cursed voice.

"LIAR!" screeched the banshee. Naruto just laughed more at the blood flowing down Sasuke's ears. He has to commend the Uchiha for surviving the screeches coming from her at close proximity. Kakashi just plowed on and decided to ignore the girl.

"…my first impression of you is that you are boring and I don't like you. Meet me at the roof in five minutes." ordered Kakashi and disappeared in gust of wind, smoke, and leaves. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and followed Kakashi's example and left using the same method. He never noticed the jealous glare of one brooding avenger.

**Location: Academy Rooftop**

Kakashi was reading a familiar orange book when he felt the chakra of his otouto appear on the rooftop. He looked up briefly and saw Naruto arriving with the same jutsu he used earlier. He nodded at Naruto, who returned the greeting and went back to reading his favourite art. Naruto on the other hand shook his head at his ero-nii-san and pulled out another book on seals and started reading where he left off.

Four minutes later, both Sasuke and Sakura exited the door that connects the stairwell to the roof of the academy. Both green genins saw that both Naruto and their sensei are reading something and did not seem to notice them arrive, Sakura being the obvious and naïve kunoichi that she is, coughed lightly so she can get their attention. However something happened that unnerved them lightly, both Naruto and Kakashi looked at them and eye-smiled. Naruto was able to pull it off without a face mask, which is a feat itself. Naruto closed his book and stood in front of Kakashi. The two seeing the meaning of the gesture, took their places accordingly. The Haruno placed herself on the right of Naruto whilst Sasuke placed himself on Naruto's left. Naruto saw the meaning of this, and snickered to himself quietly and discretely.

"Let us start my cute little genins… Introduce yourself, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and ambition for the future." started Kakashi. Sakura looked at the scarecrow ninja and asked.

"Why don't you go first sensei?" the suggestion brought interest to both Sakura and Sasuke. The inquiry's purpose for the former to use for gossip later, and the other to see if he is strong enough, worthy enough, to teach him.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes… My dreams for the future… Hmm… As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies…" stated Kakashi nonchalantly. Sasuke and Sakura, who are both listening intently, face-faulted when they heard Kakashi's introduction. Naruto, on the other hand, shook his head at his nii-san's/sensei's antics. Kakashi just eye-smiled at the reaction and pointed at Sakura first.

"Let's start with you pinkie." this remark earned a growl of annoyance from said girl.

"My name is Haruno Sakura… My likes are… (Sneaking a glance at the Uchiha before squealing)… My hobbies are… (Rinse and repeat)… My dream is to… (Squeal again at the perverse image that his inner Sakura conjured)… My dislikes are INO-PIG AND NARUTO-BAKA!" ended the girl with a screech directed at Naruto who just pulled out his earplugs again. However Kakashi did as well, earning a glare from the girl. Both them simply ignored her, Kakashi though, pointed at the brooding one and stated:

"You're next emo boy." this remark got a tick mark from Sasuke and a pitiful glare from Sakura.

"Hn… My name is Uchiha Sasuke… My likes are training and plotting on how to bring a certain man to justice… My dislike is towards a certain man… My hobby is training… My dream is to rebuild my clan and kill that certain man…" finished the avenger. Both Naruto and Kakashi sighed at the obsession shown by the Uchiha at his goal of killing his brother. Did he not see that as he continues with this, it shows that he is still playing to Itachi's tune? Kakashi shrugged off those thoughts and pointed at Naruto.

"You're next blondie." Naruto just snorted at the nickname and went on to introduce himself.

"My name is Kurosaki-Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are ramen, training, Ichigo-nii, Hokage-jiji, Kakashi-nii, and Iruka-sensei. My dislikes are the time it takes to cook ramen, people who cannot distinguish between the sealed kunai and the scroll itself. My hobby is training with Ichigo and learning new jutsus from his library. My dream is to become as great at Ichigo-nii and become Hokage!" introduced Naruto to his teammates. The two genins were confused on who this Ichigo person is. They are also confused as to why Naruto called their sensei his older brother, plus his comment about a sealed kunai. Kakashi however was happy that Naruto never changed after the revelation of his burden. However, since he has not seen hide or hair from the blonde genin last month, he was unsure on how to gauge Naruto in skills. If there is one thing he knows however, is that Ichigo has a hand with training Naruto, and he must prepare accordingly.

"Maa… now that the introductions are over, I will now tell you about the real test before becoming full-blooded genin." stated Kakashi seriously. This got all the attention of the three. Naruto was not surprised that there is another test, for if you just become a genin by just doing the three academy techniques, then Konoha is in serious danger from other villages invading them.

"Ano… sensei, I thought that the academy graduation test was all that was needed to become genin." stated Sakura, Naruto just sweat-dropped from the cluelessness of the girl, whilst Kakashi hid his expertly. Before Kakashi can reply, Naruto beat him to it.

"Do you not see it Haruno-san?" the calm, collected voice of their fellow genin caught their attention. Sakura, seeing a chance to place the blonde ninja in what she thinks her proper place and score points to the Uchiha started berating Naruto.

"SHUT UP NARUTO-BAKA!" shouted the girl, Naruto just took it in stride and let the comment fly by him.

"If you think those three jutsus that has been taught at the academy will ensure that you will be enough to save you in every mission that you will undertake, then you are sadly mistaken. For the smartest girl kunoichi in the batch, you surely lack common sense." replied Naruto, ignoring the hurt shone in Sakura's eyes briefly. If Naruto needs to become cold towards his teammates for them to shape up, then he will do so. Plus, Ichigo's demeanour is rubbing off him. Kakashi intervened beofre things get out of hand.

"This is a test to show me, the sensei, who is ready to a life of being a shinobi." explained Kakashi. Deciding things to end now, he continued on with his announcement.

"Continuing on, there will be a test tomorrow to see how good you truly are. Meet me at Training Ground 7 at 6AM. Don't eat breakfast if you do not want to throw it out during the test. That's all my cute little genins. Ja Ne!" explained Kakashi before disappearing in a swirl of smoke and leaves. Naruto turned around to face his teammates and let a soft sigh escape his lips.

"Look, the life of a shinobi will be a hard one. If you will only rely on your intelligence, I can guarantee you that you will not survive long. We are team, we need to work together to survive, until Kakashi-sensei is sure that we can take ourselves properly. Konoha became the most powerful shinobi village not because of our strength alone. We value team work and loyalty above all else. We embody the Will of Fire that gives each of us to face challenges with our heads raised up not in arrogance, but in confidence. So, with this in mind, let us start our team with the right foot. Let us go out and get to know each other better, our skills, and possible tactics to use to make us effective in the field. What do you say?" invited Naruto. He got responses shortly after asking.

"Hn…" and with that the Uchiha walked out of the roof, with Sakura trailing behind him asking for dates, which were ignored or outright denied. Naruto just sighed in resigned acceptance and disappeared from the roof with a Shunshin. The day has worked on his patience.

Unknown to the three genins, Kakashi was just under a genjutsu at the roof and heard everything Naruto has said. He was proud that his otouto was willing to build bridges with his teammates and work together. But Sasuke and Sakura have made it difficult for Naruto to do that. It also made things difficult to Kakashi. It stands now that he has an avenger, a fangirl, and a skilled shinobi that will have difficulties growing to become stronger due to his teammates dragging him down with their lack of professionalism. Kakashi sighed again and left the rooftop in the same manner like Naruto. This time however, he truly left the rooftop this time.

* * *

**Time Skip: Morning of 'Real' Genin Test**

It is 10 minutes before 9 in the morning, and we see that Naruto is casually making his way towards Training Ground 7 for the 'real' Genin Test. Naruto thought about the purpose of the test, since one of the first lesson his Kakashi-nii has told him is that always _'look underneath the underneath'_. After contemplating for a few moments on what the test could possibly be, he has suspicion on the true nature of the test that his nii-san has prepared for them. He entered the training ground and soon saw his teammates waiting impatiently for him and Kakashi. Can his teammates really be this devoid of common sense? They have already seen that their sensei is chronically late, yet they still followed the order to be present at exactly 6 in the morning. What's more Naruto can also see that they have skipped breakfast. Naruto used everything in his power to not smack himself on the forehead due to his teammates' ignorance. They should have remembered their lesson at the Academy that shinobi's metabolism is far higher than normal due to the things they do every day. Shaking of those thoughts, he made his presence known by greeting them cheerfully.

"Ohayo guys!" Naruto greeted happily at his teammates. Sasuke glared disdainfully at him, probably because of him not thinking the same thing of appearing late like Naruto. Sakura gained a tick mark and made her banshee presence known.

"NARUTO-BAKA YOU ARE LATE!" screeched the Haruno. All wildlife scrambled from the screech, whilst Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and looked at Sakura and replied:

"I am not late because Kakashi-sensei has not made his presence known. If he did come much earlier, then I can be considered late." explained Naruto that shut the girl up. Sasuke just ignored the blonde again and continued brooding. Naruto just plucked out a book about the sealing arts and started reading under the shade of a tree. A couple of minutes later, Kakashi made his appearance.

"YOU'RE LATE!" shouted Sakura again at their sensei. Kakashi just eye-smiled at them and rubbed the back of his head and explained his tardiness.

"I was walking towards here, when I noticed an old lady having trouble with her grocery and I offered my help to her and escorted her back to her home. Then I got lost on the road to life and used trial and error to get here." explained Kakashi. All three genins did not but to his BS story one bit. Sakura expressed the single thought they have in common:

"LIAR!" shouted Sakura. Naruto rolled his eyes, Sasuke returned to brooding, and Kakashi just shrugged his shoulders. It was then they noticed that Kakashi brought with him two bento boxes and a timer watch.

"Moving on, this test is to see if you are all skilled enough to become genins of the Leaf. Attached to my belt are two bells, your objective is getting a bell from me. If you fail to get a bell, you will be sent back to the Academy. That is why this test has only a 66% passing rate." explained Kakashi. Both Sakura and Sasuke are having the same thoughts at the same time:

'_I'm not returning to the Academy. I'll get a bell.'_ thought the two naïve genins. Naruto however, has confirmed his theory about the true nature of the test: Teamwork.

'_This will become difficult for me. These two will not willingly work with me unless I force him. Sasuke, being a prideful Uchiha, will think that the two of us are weaklings and will only slow him down. Sakura, being a rabid fangirl, will just try to get on the good side of Sasuke, if he has one, and try to retrieve the bells from Kakashi-sensei. How to force them into teamwork, on second thought… Yes that might work!" _thought Naruto, he hid his smirk and continued listening to Kakashi.

"You three will have until noon to retrieve these bells from me. Come at me with the intent to kill." ordered Kakashi, Sakura being ignorant, again, of Kakashi's reputation voiced out:

"Are sure sensei? We might hurt you." stated Sakura worriedly. Kakashi smiled, but inside he face-faulted at the girl's naivety.

Naruto's gained a tick mark at the girl's ignorance. He was now sure that Sakura will be the weak link amongst them. He chased those thoughts away and looked at Kakashi as he is setting the timer till noon.

"Moving on, the test begins now!" stated Kakashi, both Sasuke and Sakura jumped through the foliage and hid themselves. Naruto just stayed at his place since the beginning. Kakashi found this odd and approached his otouto.

"Otouto, both your teammates are hidden in the forest, will you not follow their example?" asked Kakashi. Naruto looked at him and smirked at his aniki.

"Nii-san, I give you my congratulations on spreading the seeds of deceit and suspiciousness on my team, masterfully done if I do say so myself. I know that the purpose of this 'test' is to measure our teamwork capabilities. It will be difficult for those two to swallow their pride and accept help, but I will not." stated Naruto. Kakashi was stunned a bit on how fast Naruto was able to deduce the hidden purpose of the test.

"And what are you going to do about it Naruto?" asked Kakashi. Naruto's smirk grew bigger with the question.

"Nothing." it was here when Kakashi felt something different in the air, that's when recognition flashed through his eyes.

'_Genjutsu, but I thought Naruto could not do genjutsus. This may be the more chakra taxing ones.' _thought Kakashi as he released the illusionary hold on him. He then found out that his otouto has gone into hiding as well. Kakashi shrugged and entered the forest and walked until he reached a clearing. He sat down and read his Icha-Icha in silence.

* * *

**Location: Sasuke's Hiding Place**

Sasuke is running through possible scenarios inside his head on how to acquire a bell and secure himself from returning back to the Academy. He does not care who the other holder is, as long as he gets hold of a bell he will be alright.

'_I'll get a bell, and then I'll be one step closer from killing you Itachi!' _thought the Uchiha.

**Location: Sakura's Hiding Place**

Sakura is hiding in the bushes and formulating a plan to help her and her 'Sasuke-kun' in acquiring the bells. She will prove to her 'love' that she is not weak and worthless. Inner Sakura was agreeing with everything she is telling to herself. Stealthily, well stealthily for a civilian anyways, she made her way to a bush that provides a clear image of the clearing and waited for the right time to strike.

**Location: Naruto's Observation Area**

Naruto is clamping down on his massive chakra reserves to avoid being detected by his teammates and hopefully his nii-san. One of the training his clones underwent in the last month is how to hide one's chakra from being detected outside of using the famed **Byakugan** of the Hyūga clan. So far he has made progress but not to level of his liking. However, it pushed him into mastering the technique further.

* * *

**Location: Clearing**

Kakashi has sensed the chakra of his three genins. He has to commend on the stealth skills of his Uchiha genin, whilst shaking his head mentally on the Haruno's skill on the same field. He is also mentally applauding his otouto on trying to clamp down on his chakra to hide him completely outside of using a dōjutsu. Naruto has still much to learn, but it was good that Naruto is able to hide his chakra partially. He knows that Naruto's skill in stealth is top-notch due to him being able to hide from ANBU wearing a 'kill me orange' jumpsuit, but now he is wearing ninja appropriate clothing he will be more difficult to find if one is not a sensor, or have a dōjutsu.

Kakashi waited for who will strike first. He did not have to wait long as a dozen kunai were launched towards him. He simply replaced himself with a log and silently went towards the location of where the kunai came from. He landed in front of the surprised Uchiha and engaged him in a taijutsu match. Kakashi observed that Sasuke has an expert level skill in their family's taijutsu style: Uchiha Interceptor, however the lack of the **Sharingan** has made the style being used by Sasuke full of holes that Kakashi is now exploiting with relish. Sasuke disengaged and jumped back and started running through hand-seals at speeds faster than a genin. Kakashi widened his eyes at the familiar set of seals. He then remembered that Uchiha's are required to know this technique as a coming of age for them. Sasuke finished his hand-seals and shouted:

"**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!**" a fireball twice the size of Sasuke is launched towards the scarecrow and promptly exploded. Sasuke waited for the smoke to settle down and was surprised to see that his sensei was not to be found anywhere. He looked at every direction possible and was not able to see him. He then felt a tug on his feet and saw the hand of Kakashi pulling him underground until his neck was all that is left. Kakashi then extricated himself from the ground and dust off his clothes will calling the name of the justu calmly.

"**Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu.**" said the man, and crouched in front of the trapped Uchiha.

"Always be alert of your surroundings. You must have been able to notice the chakra travelling under your feet, therefore making you able to escape." commented Kakashi objectively at his student. Sasuke just huffed and brooded even with his neck the only thing sticking out of the ground. Kakashi just eye-smiled at Sasuke and stood up straight before returned to the clearing.

Kakashi returned to his previous spot in the clearing and continued reading his favourite literature, whilst waiting nonchalantly for the next genin who will have the brass balls to attempt to take the bells.

Sakura seeing her chance to prove that she is indeed strong rushed out of the bushes and charged the copy-nin in attempts to fight him long enough to get the bells for her and Sasuke-kun. She never saw Kakashi sighed at the lack of proper planning from the kunoichi of the group.

Snake → Rat, the hand-seals that Kakashi went through and casted an illusion on the kunoichi.

"**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu.**" intoned Kakashi in a whisper.

* * *

**Sakura's Illusion**

Suddenly Sakura stopped in her tracks as she saw that leaves are started circling her. She lost sight of her sensei, so she did see that Kakashi has just seemingly vanished in thin air. After the leaves dispersing she saw the most gruesome sight, her love; Uchiha Sasuke is on the ground breathing heavily, cuts and wounds abound his body. It is obvious to her that Sasuke will no longer that much longer. She rushed forward in an effort to save her future husband.

"Why Sakura?" asked Sasuke hoarsely. Sakura cannot stop the tears flowing out from her eyes as she saw the battered and broken body of Sasuke up close.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke-kun! Please forgive me!" pleaded Sakura as she tried to stave off the blood coming from Sasuke's heavily bleeding chest. She saw that it was a very deep cut the skin and muscles are split apart, most likely made by a sword.

"Why did you not save me Sakura? Why are you not strong enough to save me?" continued 'Sasuke' making the tears from Sakura's eyes come out much faster than before.

"Why?" that was the last thing 'Sasuke' has stated and promptly closed his eyes, finally losing the battle against Death. This was the moment in which the dam is broken. Sakura cried out in horror, sadness, and guilt because of what happened in front of her.

* * *

Outside the illusion, Kakashi sighed at the display in front of him. Taking pity at the crying figure in front of him, he knocked her out by pinching a nerve cluster. He picked up Sakura placed her under the shade of a tree and waited for Naruto to try his luck against him. This is the battle he is waiting for, since he does not know how Ichigo trained Naruto during the past month, he did not know what to expect from the blonde ninja.

Kakashi was broken out of his musings when Naruto dropped in front of him and walked up until he was a respectable distance to him. Naruto's face was devoid of anything that indicates of what he is thinking of right now. They are also unaware that a certain Uchiha has his eyes set on the brewing confrontation in front of them. Sasuke knew that he is much more skilled than the 'dobe' in front of their sensei; therefore his is confident that Naruto will lose the battle against Kakashi.

"Maa… Naruto as you can see, the head-on approach is not the ideal strategy for you to have a chance of retrieving a bell." stated Kakashi lazily. Naruto merely inclined his head and replied.

"I know Kakashi-sensei, but I came here to test myself and see how far I have gone with my training." replied Naruto calmly. Naruto's voice did not express any hint of arrogance or nervousness. In the experience of Kakashi, those who are patient and calculating are the most dangerous opponent that a shinobi can face; the Yondaime Hokage is a perfect example for that.

"Very well Naruto, let us begin." stated Kakashi, however his stance is still did not change. However, to the extremely observant, one can see the tensing of the muscles of Kakashi, signifying his preparedness to any situation that Naruto can throw at him.

Naruto, wanting to get this over quickly by unbalancing Kakashi with quick strikes while also distracting him from the true purpose of his plan, started going through hand-seals at respectable speed, way faster than Sasuke's but slow enough that Kakashi can still see the individual seals. Kakashi's lone eye widened at the jutsu Naruto is about to unleash and was mildly impressed at his student's knowledge of this jutsu.

"**Katon: Karyūdan.**" intoned Naruto calmly. He then unleashed a stream of white fire from his mouth towards Kakashi's location. Kakashi's lone eye widened again at the power Naruto gave to the technique. Substitution is out since Sakura may get hit by the flames and be burned very badly. No choice but to counter the jutsu with another jutsu of a stronger element.

Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger are the hand-seals that Kakashi formed at incredible speeds for his latest technique:

"**Suiton: Suijinheki.**" intoned the copy-ninja. A semi-circular wall of water formed in front of Kakashi before the fire release technique hit and possibly burning him. As soon as the fire stream hit the water wall, mist started enveloping the area, covering the view of all the conscious ones. Kakashi stretched out his senses to find where Naruto is. He did not have to wait long as the blonde hair ninja announced another jutsu.

"**Fūton: Daitoppa!**" exclaimed the blonde. Kakashi saw that Naruto and a Kage Bunshin of said blonde were standing side by side going through different hand-seals. But before he can act and subdue both, three clones popped from his blind spots, like what ANBU Neko does when she uses her flush move, and started engaging him in a taijutsu match. He absently noted that the some of the moves Naruto is using is similar to some moves that his best friend Ichigo does when they are sparring with each other. No matter how many times he has seen Ichigo in a taijutsu match with Gai, or facing Ichigo by himself, he is still impressed with the fluidity and power of the style being employed. And now that Naruto knows a few moves from Ichigo's arsenal, he now knows what to expect from the blonde. He was so into the battle between him and the three clones that he forgot that the original Naruto and his clone are working on a collaboration jutsu. He only remembered when Naruto and his clone shouted two different jutsus that complement each other:

"**Fūton: Daitoppa!**" the clone shouted and breathed out a compressed gust of wind towards Kakashi's location.

"**Katon: Endan!**" the original Naruto stated and breathed out a white hot fire bullet. Mixed the fire bullet with the wind jutsu that his clone used, the speed and power of the fire technique is doubled.

Kakashi, seeing that a jutsu is impractical due to the clones utilised a seal-less Shunshin and escape the blast. He then noticed that he left Sakura to the fate of being blasted apart by the collaboration technique, but even before he can move a muscle, an explosion rocked the clearing. He waited for the smoke to subside and look for the unconscious kunoichi. After the smoke has settled, he was relieved that Naruto was able to remove her from the danger zone before the explosion occurred. He was shaken from his thoughts when sounds of metal flying through the air reached his ears. He looked around and saw a dozen kunai rushing towards him at respectable speed. Naruto's voice then rang out and called a technique surprising him again.

"**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" called Naruto. The kunai then multiplied easily hundreds, making Kakashi block and dodge the flying metal and saving himself from injury. It seems this is what Naruto is waiting for as he suddenly engaged Kakashi in a fierce taijutsu match. Kakashi was surprised at the added speed that Naruto has, and absently noted that Naruto seems to wear weights. He started defending more quickly, because some moves he recognised hurts when hit. Add the nature of the moves to the added speed and power of Naruto's strikes and you've got pain just waiting for you.

Throughout all of this Sasuke, was watching the fight and seethed in jealously on how skilled the blonde ninja seemed to be. He was wondering why he a no-name adopted orphan has a private teacher, whilst he, an elite Uchiha, does not. It was not fair, and will demand the 'dobe' to take him to his teacher force said teacher to drop Naruto and take him as his apprentice.

"You are good Naruto, very good. Your skills put you at least chūnin level. It seems Ichigo really trained you to the ground for the last month." commented Kakashi. He was starting to enjoy the battle between him and his otouto.

"Thanks Kakashi-nii. Ichigo-nii is really a perfectionistic, ruthless, but effective sensei." replied Naruto. It is better not to lose focus on the fight right now. He knows that Kakashi is just matching his level right now, but he can clearly see excitement and pride shining through the copy-nin's lone eye. They were interrupted by the time going off. They disengaged and took a breather to cool themselves down. Kakashi glared at the location where he set the timer because of it disrupting the increasingly fun spar he has with Naruto. Kakashi shrugged those thoughts away and proceeded to excavate the Uchiha from his underground confines and carrying Sakura near the bridge that is present in the training ground. He woke up the unconscious kunoichi and started explaining that he trapped her in a genjutsu that shows her most feared thoughts. She just shouted at her sensei for doing that. Kakashi just ignored the compaints, whilst Naruto ignored her completely.

"Well, time's up, and you fail to get both bells." informed Kakashi solemnly. That expression lasted when he heard tinkling coming from Naruto's direction. Kakashi looked at Naruto and saw the two bells dangling from his raised index finger. Kakashi looked down and saw that two rocks with wrapped in ninja wire is hanging from his belt. Sakura and Sasuke was wide-eyed at what Naruto has accomplished. Kakashi looked at Naruto questioningly. Naruto just smirked and answered the silent question.

"Remember when you used your suiton jutsu to counter the jutsu I unleashed on you Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto to his bewildered sensei. Kakashi just nodded prompting Naruto to continue with his explanation.

"Well you see, whilst the mist was surrounding the clearing, I created five shadow clones of myself. One is responsible for helping me in my collaboration jutsu, three to distract you in a taijutsu match, whilst the last remaining clone is to take Sakura away from the crossfire. However, the clones sent to distract you Kakashi-sensei have another agenda; one of them must touch the bells or at least one of the bells. One of the clones managed to touch both the bells hanging from your belt. However, that is not the genius part of the plan. The clone who managed to touch both bells is able to perform a **Kawarimi no Jutsu** on the bells." explained Naruto, to the shocked Kakashi and genins. Kakashi's mind was able to understand the rest of the plan and was surprised how simple yet effective Naruto's tactic is that he cannot help himself from chuckling in amusement at how he was outsmarted by Naruto. Naruto seeing the understanding on his nii-san's eyes nodded his head at him. However, seeing the confused look at his fellow genins, he decided to continue his explanation.

"We all know that to perform a Substitution Jutsu, one must overwhelm the latent chakra surrounding an object to switch places with it completely. The same principle applies in using humans, but this time one must overwhelm the innate chakra inside a person to switch places. All the clone did was to overwhelm the chakra surrounding the bells and replacing it with what is strapped to your belt. The rocks hanging from Kakashi-sensei's belt was originally hanging at my belt, hidden from view, but the clone knew where it was. The remaining time sparring with Kakashi-sensei was just purely for fun and educational purposes." explained Naruto to the dumbfounded genins. They quickly nodded their heads in understanding about what happened.

"Well Naruto, congratulations on retrieving the bell from me, but now that you have one bell, who are you giving the other bell?" asked Kakashi, trying to spread mistrust and doubts to the group. He knew that it was futile since Naruto knew of the true purpose even before the start of the test hours ago. It was proven true when Naruto threw both bells in the direction of Sasuke and Sakura; both caught the bell instinctively and looked at the blonde questioningly. Naruto seeing the looks aimed at him decided to explain the hidden purpose of the test.

"You guys might have noticed this, but did it ever occur to you that there was never a 3 man genin cell?" asked Naruto to open up his explanation. Both Sasuke and Sakura nodded their heads to the query. Naruto then continued on.

"Exactly, it was always a 4 man genin cell. A jōnin-sensei and three genins is always the composition of a genin cell team. What Kakashi-sensei was doing is that he was sowing seeds of doubts and mistrust among each of us. We are a team, and we are expected to watch each other's backs come hell or high water. We must never abandon our comrades for that makes us lower than any scum that can be found in the Elemental Nations. If doubts and lack of trust are rampant in a team, we can never grow into a shinobi that will make Konoha proud and we can never differentiate ourselves from those ninjas of the other villages who abandons who what they are think are weak to the wolves to fend for themselves. We are not that, and never will be like that." explained Naruto to his teammates. Kakashi just looked at his blonde younger brother with pride. Deciding to capitalise on Naruto's charismatic speech, Kakashi continued:

"Naruto is correct. I believe I can summarise what he said in a single sentence. Those who abandon the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades or family are worse than trash." stated Kakashi. He let his students absorb what he has said to them. He decided that tying someone up the post is no longer necessary since Naruto has let the cat out of the bag. After a few moments of silence, Kakashi continued.

"Alright, meet me here tomorrow at 7 in the morning for training. At 1 in the afternoon we pick a D-rank mission from the missions' office. Dismissed." stated Kakashi, he watched on as Naruto invite the team again and watched in satisfaction as they agreed and left the training grounds in what looks like companionable silence. Deciding to report to the Hokage without further delay, he left the training ground in a swirl of smoke and leaves heading straight to the Kage's office.

* * *

**Location: Hokage Tower**

The jōnins that were assigned a team are standing in front of their leader reporting on the teams that have passed and failed. He sighed at the number of teams to be placed back at the Academy. Konoha has become complacent after the end of the Third Shinobi War. Despite the attack of the Kyūbi 12 years ago, the Academy standard is still lax about its requirements for promising genins. Shaking those thoughts off his mind, he focused on the reporting jōnin, which is his son Asuma, since Kakashi is nowhere to be seen.

Asuma, the son of the Sandaime, is a tall man, with brown eyes, short, black spiky hair, and beard. His clothing consisted of the standard Konoha ninja uniform with the sleeves rolled up half way, flak jacket, regular shinobi sandals and forehead protector. He also wore the Twelve Guardian Ninja sash that had the kanji for "Fire" (**火**) marked on it around his waist, a pair of black bangles and bandages wrapped around the arms of his sleeves.

"Team 10, consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji passed." reported Asuma before falling in line with his fellow jōnin. A ruby-eyed kunoichi then stepped forward to give her report on her assigned team's status.

The woman was none other than Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress, Yūhi Kurenai. Kurenai is a fairly tall and light-skinned woman of slender build. She has long, black, shoulder-length untamed hair, and very unique eyes that are red in colour, with an additional ring in them. She wears make-up consisting of red lipstick and purple eye shadow. Her outfit consists of a red mesh armour blouse with only the right sleeve visible. Over this is very broad material which resembles bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns. Her hands and upper thighs are also wrapped in bandages and she wears the Konoha forehead protector and regular shinobi sandals.

"Team 8, consisting of Aburame Shino, Hyūga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba passed Hokage-sama." reported Kurenai. Team 9 is not included due to them being the same team last year, and they are also currently on a mission outside of Konoha. The Sandaime nodded his head and was surprised lightly at the timely arrival of Kakashi. The same thoughts are also running in the minds of the other jōnins inside the room.

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Kurosaki-Uzumaki Naruto passed." reported Kakashi. The others were surprised because of two things; Kakashi has finally passed a team, and the full name of Naruto. All jōnins knew that there is only one person, aside from Naruto, who has that family name: Kurosaki Ichigo, the Shinigami of the Leaf, and the Yondaime Kami no Shinobi. Some jōnins who have a beef with Naruto decided to wisely shut their mouths about their opinions regarding Naruto if they don't want Ichigo's wrath to bear down upon them. Sarutobi reigned in his thoughts and ordered Kakashi to explain what happened during the test. Kakashi did so, and everyone in the room was astounded on how Naruto was able to capture the bell and how easily he deciphered the true purpose of the test. They were also surprised how charismatic Naruto can be, if the impromptu speech he gave his team was any indication. Sarutobi was mentally applauding both Naruto and Ichigo. He applauded Naruto for being so mature in handling his teammates. Ichigo, on the other hand, has his heartfelt congratulations on how Ichigo was able to raise Naruto properly, and able to make him utilise his potential to the max. With Kakashi's report done, he dismissed all of them and continued his paperwork.

* * *

**Time Skip: 4 months**

It has been 4 months since Team 7 or Team Kakashi was formed. The three genins were able to at least form a civil form of relationship with each other and this relationship is slowly, but surely growing into that of a tenuous friendship. There might be an argument here and there, but nothing like good food facilitating in fixing whatever was the problem that started the argument in the first place.

However, it did not mean Naruto is not learning anything during this time. He was sending an enhanced shadow clone to do the D-rank missions while he works on his physical strength and skills. During the last four months he is able to master the Iaido technique and was rewarded by his nii-san by new acquisition on the sealing arts plus several B to A-rank Fūton and Katon jutsus. He spent all these months perfecting the hand-seals and increasing his speed in them. He may not like to brag, but he feels that his hand-seals are now as fast as Kakashi-sensei due to countless clones doing the same set of hand-seals over and over again, plus him doing it all during his Sunday rest-day at an abandoned training ground. The Katon jutsus that he has mastered during the last quarter are: **Katon: Karyū Endan**, and **Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu**. For Fūton jutsus he mastered during the last four months are: **Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku**, and **Fūton: Shinkūgyoku**.

Naruto also increased added another 25 lbs. on his current weights, with blessings from Ichigo, totaling the extra weight he has to 400 lbs. His big brother made sure to keep a keen eye on him when he was getting used to the additional weights. And so for the next 3 months he worked diligently until his previous speed before adding the extra 25 lbs. is achieved.

Naruto was going crazy from the amount of D-rank missions they have been doing. None of them was worse than catching Tora the cat. The one-tailed beast was a menace to him and his team, they were scratched and bit by the damnable cat and Naruto had enough. Even though he was only sending a shadow clone during D-rank missions, every time the clone dispel he can sympathise with his clone that the damnable cat is annoying. During one of the missions, he ordered the clone to place a summoning seal on the cat's collar for easy retrieval for the real one later. However Naruto was unable to use it since then due to Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi was the one picking the missions. However, since he will be the next one, he will make sure to pick the Tora mission, and earn easy money from doing so.

The seal he placed is usually on objects that are small in nature. Naruto, using his natural talent in seals, modified the seal to allow summoning small living objects like cats instantly to him. The technique simply creates an unseen bridge between the 'sending' and 'receiving' seals. Upon experimentations on some objects of differing mass and size, he was able to summon anything to him, like a summoning technique. However, live human beings are out of his reach because as the mass, size, and distance of the object increase, the more chakra is needed to utilise the technique. Now the same principles apply to humans, however, add the fact that the seal must also overwhelm the latent chakra a person has. Therefore, putting these seals on trained shinobi is out of the question since, it is already difficult to summon live civilians, therefore it stands to reason it will be much more difficult to downright impossible summoning a person who can utilize chakra.

Right now, he felt that he can finally use the seal and summon the cat and set an unbeatable record regarding the cat. Naruto's team entered the office of his surrogate grandfather and saw him smoking his trusty pipe with Iruka handling the missions to be given to them. Kakashi stepped forward and greeted the Hokage respectfully.

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 reporting in for another mission." stated Kakashi, his nose buried at his Icha-Icha after greeting the village's leader. The Sandaime nodded his head and presented a selection of open missions for Team 7 to take on.

"Alright Team 7, we have catching Tora, helping a civilian move houses, and helping a farmer near Konoha's outskirts on his farm." listed off the Fire Shadow.

"Old man, we'll take the Capture Tora mission." stated Naruto confidently. Naruto ignored the incredoulus look of his teammates and sensei. Sarutobi just looked at Naruto questioningly.

"Naruto, are you sure you want this mission? Normally, genin teams that drew the short straw figuratively are the one who take this mission." asked Sarutobi. Nauro just nodded his head and asked the Hokage a surprising question.

"I'm sure. Jiji, what is the record regarding the time spent capturing Tora?" asked the grinning Naruto. Sarutobi saw this look and decided to humour him.

"The record stands at 3 hours flat. Why Naruto? Do you intend to break the record?" asked the Hokage to the grinning blonde ninja.

"Something like that jiji." Naruto then took the mission scroll and read through it and nodded his head. He went to the centre of the room and unravelled a scroll with a sealing array. This is the first time that anyone saw Naruto using seals. Both the Sandaime and Kakashi noted how Naruto looks like the Yondaime when he was at that age. They were snapped back to reality when Naruto cut his thumb with a kunai and went through familiar hand-seals.

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram were the seals Naruto used and slammed his lightly bleeding hand on the center of the seal.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**" in a puff of smoke, Tora stood in front of everyone. The room's visible and invisible occupants had their jaws fall to the ground due to how Naruto finished the mission easily. Naruto laughed at the expressions and picked up Tora before locking the cat to her cage.

"Mission Accomplished Hokage-jiji, we have captured Tora and achieved a new record of 15 seconds." stated by a grinning Naruto to the aged leader. The Hokage composed himself and asked the question burning in everyone's minds:

"How?" asked the Sandaime to his surrogate grandson. Naruto just chuckled and explained how he got tired of Tora scratching the hell out of him and his team. He also explained on him placing a seal on the cat's collar that enables him to summon the cat anywhere as long as he has the complementary seal of the seal he used on Tora. He also explained the mechanics of the seal to everyone. After Naruto's explanation, everyone was shocked that a genin was able to create a modified seal to summon an object or a living creature like a cat easily. The potential of such a seal is great regardless of the cost when Naruto informed them of the limitations of the seals. The Hokage was in contemplation on whether to buy the seal for Konoha's use or let Naruto modify the seal first to perfection before making a deal with the budding seal master.

"Ano… jiji, can we have a higher-ranked mission now? I'll be blunt to you jiji, D-ranked missions are simple chores that civilians are too lazy to do in the first place." stated Naruto. Sasuke nodded his head on Naruto's logic. And Sakura, since he saw that her Sasuke-kun agreed with Naruto's logic nodded her head as well. Iruka was about to explain it to them, when the Hokage asked the still silent Kakashi.

"What do you think Kakashi? Do you think your team is ready?" asked the leader of Konoha. Kakashi made eye contact with Sarutobi and declared in a firm tone:

"Yes, they are indeed ready Hokage-sama."

"Very well, Iruka give me the C-rank bodyguard mission." ordered the Sandaime. Iruka just nodded in acceptance since his leader has already made his decision regarding Team 7.

"Team 7, your client is hailing from the Land of Waves. He is the bridge builder Tazuna, the self-proclimed 'Super Awesome Bridge Builder'. The job is simple protect him on his way back to Wave from bandits. My secretary will let him inside this office now." stated by the Hokage, briefing them on the parameters regarding the mission they received. They waited for their client to make his presence known. They did not have to wait long when the door opened and came in a man that smells heavily of sake. The genins cannot believe it, their client was a drunk!

Upon closer inspection, they saw that their client is a grey-haired, bespectacled man with a large beard and dark eyes. He wore a sleeveless V-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head. Their observation of the client was interrupted when said client started talking.

"This is protection detail! I did not ask for some snot-nosed brats to protect me! I see a pink-haired girl that will run away on the first sign of trouble, a pretty boy who broods a lot and looks like he cannot handle himself on a fight, and… well at least this one seems capable." commented Tazuna about his protection detail. His comments got him a glare from Sakura and Sasuke due to blunt way their client has described them. Naruto just accepted the compliment wordlessly. Inwardly however, Naruto is suspicious at the jumpy attitude Tazuna is displaying. A simple escort mission should not make their clients that jumpy, unless the mission has a deeper purpose that is not written on the mission scroll. Kakashi moved to placate their client by saying:

"Don't fret Tazuna-san. These three in front of you are trained shinobi. Bandits will be easy for them to defeat." stated Kakashi calmly. Tazuna just nodded his head, Naruto and both Kakashi still saw the nervousness radiating off the man and vowed to watch him closer as the mission progresses.

"Alright my cute little genins pack necessities for a one-week mission and meet me at the Main Gate within 2 hours. Dismissed!" ordered Kakashi and watched as Sakura and Sasuke left using the door, whilst Naruto used a Shunshin no Jutsu to return to his home. Kakashi nodded at the client and left the using the same method Naruto used moments ago to prepare for a mission.

* * *

**Location: Main Gate of Konoha**

Naruto arrived at the meeting point just in time to see the client, Sasuke, and Sakura waiting for him and their sensei. He received questioning looks from his teammates due to the lack of a backpack. He caught the looks and explained.

"As you can see earlier, I have advanced knowledge of seals, so I created my own modified storage seals to use. All of my equipment and necessities are there. I have also brought extra just in case. It is better to be prepared always." explained Naruto to his teammates. Both just nodded their head at the blonde's logic. Naruto seeing the opportunity build more in their dynamics offered that he can make them the same storage seals for their used and they accepted. A few minutes later their sensei appeared with a backpack. He noticed Naruto has no backpack but instantly remembered that Naruto is a sealing expert, so storage seals are common place for the blonde ninja. They showed the needed papers at the guard station and left Konoha, their first non D-ranked mission officially begins now.

* * *

**Time Skip: 2 days after leaving Konoha**

**Location: Road to Nami no Kuni**

Team 7 was on their second day of the escort job that Tazuna has posted in Konoha. So far no signs of impending hostility have made itself known, which is good. Companionable silence was reigning among them. Sakura decided that she can't keep silent for long periods of time, and with natural curiosity winning out asked Tazuna a question.

"Tazuna-san don't you have shinobis in Nami no Kuni?" asked the curious kunoichi. But before Tazuna can answer her question, Kakashi replied about the topic.

"Nami no Kuni is a nation that has no hidden village, and thus rely on its neighbouring hidden villages to protect them. However, Nami no Kuni is prosperous, thus troubles that require shinobi intervention are far and few in between." explained Kakashi, while also dropping a subtle hint to Tazuna about the mission having a deeper reason that was not written on the mission scroll. Kakashi detected no visible reaction from the Tazuna thus allaying the concern of the copy-nin for a moment. As they were talking and walking, Kakashi noticed a puddle of water. He noticed the genjutsu immediately and looked at his team discretely if they saw the same thing he saw. He was pleased at least that Naruto was able to pick up the genjutsu. He decided to test his genin's skills at facing enemy shinobi by stepping on the pool of water 'accidentally'.

He saw Naruto tense, ready for battle, and not a moment soon since the genjutsu was dispelled and Kakashi was wrapped in a chain made of shuriken and was dragged back violently to the attacking duo. Sakura froze on the spot due to the sudden attack. She quickly recomposed herself and stood guard in front of their client whilst watching Naruto and Sasuke attack the duo.

Naruto rushed his enemy at high-chūnin speeds, which shocked his attackers and his teammates causing them to stop whatever they are doing, and attacked. Using the katana gifted to him by his nii-san, he wasted no time as he imbued the katana wind chakra for added cutting power and used his newly mastered Iaido technique. He unsheathed his katana, swung it, and flicked off the blood and sheathed the blade again in its scabbard.

'_Click…'_ that was the sound that reverberated through everyone's ears. Then they heard the splurging of blood and saw the shinobi that Naruto attacked is instantly bifurcated by the stomach. Sasuke and Sakura both threw up their lunch as they saw innards slipping out of both halves of the once live shinobi. Tazuna was not doing better either. Although he thanked Kami that he is guarded by capable ninjas he was not used to seeing innards falling off sliced body parts. The shinobi who saw his brother getting killed by a genin with a single swipe of his katana shouted in rage and dashed forwards to the one responsible for his brother's demise intending to remove the head of the blonde ninja from his shoulders.

He threw his fist forward, trying to cave the skull of his brother's murderer in. He forgot that said blonde brat can move faster than him, making Naruto dodge his attack with ease. Naruto, trying to save the one to gather information used the blunt side of his katana to knock the enemy shinobi out. It was successful and he tied up the possible Kiri-nin to a tree. He then went to the shinobi he killed and decapitated it and placed the head inside one of his storage scrolls. He intends to collect the bounty after the end of the mission or during the mission if they will pass by a bounty office.

"You can come out now Kakashi-sensei." stated Naruto to no one in particular. Both Sasuke and Sakura, now finished emptying their respective stomachs and understanding how easily Naruto defeated both their enemies, looked at the blonde in question since they saw their sensei being cut multiple times by the shuriken chain that was used by both enemy ninjas. They rustling and saw their sensei exit the shrubs. They then looked at where their sensei landed and saw hacked-off pieces of wood lying on the ground meaning their sensei used a substitution jutsu.

"Good work there Naruto, remind me not to annoy you while you are holding a katana." stated Kakashi. He saw how Naruto bifurcate the enemy ninja and was impressed by how precise, quick, and powerful Naruto's kill move is. Ichigo must have taught him those advanced sword techniques. Kakashi was reminded by his sensei's wife, Uzumaki Kushina, how she too was a master of the blade giving her the name of Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, or the more fearsome Benihime.

* * *

Inside a certain candy shop, Urahara Kisuke's zanpakutō, Benihime, was shimmering red with annoyance. Someone must be talking about her. They will feel her wrath once she found out who has been talking about her behind her back.

* * *

Kakashi then felt a dreadful shiver run through him. He felt that he entered someone's hit list and prayed to Kami that he is wrong. He shook those dreadful thoughts out of his mind and focused on their prisoner that is currently tied up to the tree. After interrogating the ninja that was later known to be Gōzu and learning Momochi Zabuza will be waiting for them once they set foot on Nami no Kuni. Naruto then placed a paralysis and life suspension seal on Gōzu and sealed him inside another storage scroll.

"Now Tazuna-san care to inform us why an A-rank missing shinobi is waiting for us at Nami no Kuni?" asked Kakashi in a deadly whisper. This mission has jumped from C-rank to A-rank instantly. Tazuna started sweating before he started on the story why he lied about mission parameters. He started it by telling about the arrival of Gatō and how the methodical tightening of the noose on the neck of Nami no Kuni started. He then told the Konoha ninjas about his goal of finishing the bridge to break Gatō's monopoly on the area and free his people. Kakashi sighed at the true circumstances of the mission they have taken and was in a quandry.

"I'll inform Hokage-sama about this development. Until we received word from him, I cannot do anything about this Tazuna-san." informed Kakashi solemnly to the crestfallen bridge builder. He then summoned Pakkun and asked him to go to Konoha ASAP and deliver a message to the Sandaime. The nin-dog nodded his head and made his way to Konoha. Kakashi proposed that they camped out for the day and make viable strategies on what to do next.

"Kakashi-sensei let us continue the mission. We have suffered no injuries since Naruto took care of the enemy ninja earlier." suggested the Uchiha, inwardly the beast, known as jealously, has made itself known and is overriding Sasuke's rational thoughts. He and Naruto have a civil relationship with each other after the bell test. However, as the months continued, he felt that he can never grow up as a shinobi since Naruto is, as he hated to admit it, more skilled than him and his fangirl. However this feeling of inadequacy soon mutated to resentment for the blonde. But now seeing Naruto kill one chūnin level shinobi and knocking another out using a few moves; it made him utterly jealous because he felt that he should be the one who has that skill to enable him finally killing his brother for the Uchiha clan genocide that he did. However, he kept those thoughts to himself; despite Naruto offering his ear to his team should they need a sounding board of their problems. He needed to prove to Naruto and to himself that he stands on equal footing with the blonde.

Kakashi just hummed in contemplation about the Uchiha's suggestion. He weighed his options carefully. In one hand, he can face Zabuza since they are roughly on equal footing, couple that with the loss of the 'Demon Brothers' will just make Zabuza a powerful missing-nin without shinobi back-up. On the other hand, the mission that they have signed for is a C-rank escort mission from Konoha to Nami no Kuni and continuing the mission is a breach of standard protocols. Tired of weighing his options out, he turned to face his students.

"Alright, let us put this matter into vote. Who agrees on continuing the mission to Nami no Kuni?" asked Kakashi to his genin team. He saw both Sasuke and Naruto raised their hands in agreement. Since Sakura is outvoted, he sighed in acceptance and explained to Tazuna that they will continue on with the mission.

"Oh Thank You! Thank You so much! You cannot believe how much this means to me and to the people of Wave." gushed out the relieved master bridge builder to the Konoha team he was assigned to. Both parties slept that night with one feeling relief, while the others, specifically Naruto and Kakashi, feeling a sense of ominous life-changing events will happen during the mission.

* * *

**Time Skip: Midday after the ambush set by the Demon Brothers**

**Location: Dock**

Team 7 including their client reached the dock that currently connects the Land of Waves with the Land of Fire by midday after the attack of the Demon Brothers yesterday. They were greeted by a friend of Tazuna and they started their journey to Wave by boat ride. A few minutes on the boat and they saw the bridge that will serve to free Nami no Kuni from Gatō's clutches. Naruto voiced their thoughts about the incomplete bridge that welcomed them.

"That is one magnificent bridge Tazuna-san." commented Naruto with a hint of respect to his voice because of what Tazuna is doing to free his people from corrupt business man. Tazuna just puffed out his chest in pride at the comment he and his masterpiece received. They were shaken out of their thoughts when Tazuna's boatman friend announced that he cannot go further, lest he risk the corrupt tycoon finding out about him helping the bridge builder. Tazuna nonetheless thanked his friend and informed his security detail that the walk towards his home will at least take two hours. Kakashi and his team nodded their heads and started their trek towards the bridge builder's home. Kakashi reminded his team that Zabuza is stalking somewhere waiting for them. They all nodded their heads and tensed their bodies, ready for anything that may happen. Sasuke still gripe about his uselessness during the last fight was more alert now. He hears a movement on the bush near him and threw a kunai to its direction. His attack garners his teammates' interest and looked at the rabbit that came out of the bush, terrified out of its wits. Naruto and Kakashi saw the unsual colour of the rabbit's fur and knew that the rabbit was grown inside in a relatively cool environment, meaning that the rabbit was used for a substitution jutsu. They then heard the sound of a spinning metal flying through the air.

"DUCK!" ordered Kakashi and dragging their client to the ground. His genin team followed his lead and saw a massive broadsword cutting the air and aimed to take their heads off, since they have ducked away from the massive blade, the blade lodged itself on a tree. Moments later a man landed on the hilt of the blade and observed the Konoha team before him.

The man standing on the hilt of the blade is a tall and noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He wears bandages like a mask over the bottom half of his face, covering his teeth but outlining his relatively narrow jawline. He wears a Kirigakure hitai-ate sideways on his head. He is also shirtless; with his chest only covered by a belt to which they can assume is where his massive blade is attached. He is also wearing baggy pants with the striped pattern typical of Kirigakure and mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers.

"No wonder the Demon Brothers lost, they have faced the infamous 'Sharingan no Kakashi' and his team of green genins." stated the missing-nin in an amused voice. Sakura and Sasuke were surprised about the information, Naruto has known about his nii-san's secret for years now.

'_Kakashi-sensei has the Sharingan? How is that possible?'_ thought Sasuke as he tried to process the information stated by the enemy ninja.

"Momochi Zabuza, A-rank missing nin from Kirigakure no Sato, accused of trying to assassinate the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura. Also known as the 'Kirigakure no Kijin', we know about you waiting for us here. One of the Demon Brothers is dead, whilst the other is indisposed of the moment" stated Kakashi. The now named Zabuza chuckled in respone at the recital of his profile from the Bingo Book. Zabuza also hid his slight surprise that one-half of the Demon Brothers is dead whilst the other is captured.

"Enough with the pleasantries Kakashi, I come for your client. Give him to me and you can walk away with lives and limbs intact." offered Zabuza to the Konoha team. Kakashi just shook his head in negative and revealed his transplanted Sharingan for Zabuza to see.

"Team 7 protect the client at all costs." ordered Kakashi, he knew that Naruto can handle guarding the client, so that made him more relaxed and completely focus himself against the swordsman.

"The Sharingan? This early? I am honoured to see you think that I am a big enough threat to force use using that dōjutsu of yours." stated Zabuza as he jumped down and prepared himself to face Kakashi. Zabuza then placed his hand in a half-tiger seal and called out his infamous jutsu:

"**Kirigakure no Jutsu.**" as mist originating from the lake started crawling inland and blocked the view of the Konoha ninjas completely. Kakashi's Sharingan is rendered useless due to the chakra-laced mist surrounding him.

"Eight points…" started a voice that seems to come from everywhere in the mist.

"Larynx, Spine, Lungs, Heart, Kidneys, Subclavian Artery, Liver, or the Jugular: The eight points that I can slice while hidden in this mist. Which one will I slice off your client Kakashi?" taunted Zabuza. In a show of complete mastery of the jutsu, Zabuza appeared inside the formation that Team 7 built around the client and was ready to lop the head of the client when a kunai emerged from the chest of Zabuza, showing Kakashi has indeed tracked his movements whilst hidden in the mist.

"It's over Zabuza, you lost." mocked Kakashi. He then heard mocking laughter from the mist and realised that the one he stabbed was the real Zabuza. He was proven true when he looked the 'Zabuza' he stabbed started ejecting water from the wound. Before Kakashi can do something, the entire body turned to water and fell to the ground.

In a moment of karma, Zabuza appeared behind the copy-nin and sliced the scarecrow in half. Everyone was taken aback when Kakashi's body dissolved to water as well signifying that he was able to copy the **Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu** of the missing-nin while being surrounded by the Mist.

"Impressive Kakashi, you have managed to track me in my mist whilst also copying my Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu…" commented Zabuza before appearing behind Kakashi, "…but that is not enough to stop me." said Zabuza before grabbing Kakashi and throwing him onto the lake where the real Zabuza is waiting in wait for Kakashi's arrival. As Kakashi emerged from the lake he heard an eerily distinctive voice beside him and a jutsu being called.

"**Suirō no Jutsu!**" stated Zabuza before trapping Kakashi in a spherical water prison. It was also at this moment that Zabuza dispelled his mist and showed to the trapped copy-nin that Team 7 and the client is outnumbered and outgunned. He has no choice but to order them to retreat and save the client.

"Naruto! Take your team and GO! Protect the client from Zabuza!" Naruto looked at Kakashi's location in worry before nodding reluctantly and faced his Team.

* * *

"You heard sensei! Let's make a tactical retreat. Our client must be protected above all else!" ordered Naruto. Sakura nodded her head, but Sasuke, feeling the need to show everyone he is stronger dashed forward a Zabuza clone, completely ignoring Naruto's shout of turning back.

"Dammit! I'll kick his ass if we survive this." growled a pissed Naruto and started formulating a viable tactic to make sure they can escape from this with the least amount of injuries.

"Sakura!" shouted Naruto, snapping the girl's attention from the beating that Sasuke is receiving to the blonde teammate near her.

"Protect the client! Let none get past you, understood?" ordered Naruto sternly.

"H-hai!" replied the girl meekly. Naruto sighed before going to the Zabuza clones that are currently wiping the floor of Sasuke and unsealed and unsheathed his katana. He was just in time to block the swing of the massive cleaver from connecting to the battered boy. Naruto gritted his teeth, since even though that he is facing a clone; the swing still packed a punch.

"Next time, if our sensei orders us to do something follow it!" shouted Naruto to his downed teammate who just glared at the blonde nin. Naruto focused on his opponent and started going through the basic and advanced katas Ichigo has taught him. He is able to hold the clone; however, the next two came to the help of the one he is fighting with, making it much more difficult to face them since he is still learning the way of Ichigo's sword style. He overextended his attack a bit, making a Zabuza clone able to disarm him, and disarm him the clone did. Now that he is now without a weapon against three of the eight Zabuza clones, it will be very difficult to face him now. He jumped back and performed a shadow clone jutsu. A clone appeared beside him and went through rapid hand-seals. A collaboration jutsu is best here since fire is definitely weaker than water.

Tiger → Dog, these are the hand-seals the clone went through and inhaled a large amount of wind and compressed them into a high-density wind sphere.

The original formed a Tiger hand-seal and kneaded his chakra to create a fireball shaped like a dragon's head. He then prepared to launch it in conjunction with his clone. He made a mental command to the clone, and in an instant they shouted their respective techniques before exhaling them.

"**Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku!**" stated the clone and exhaled a dense sphere of potent Wind Chakra.

"**Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!**" the original stated and exhaled a large fireball shaped like a dragon's head.

Both techniques merged to formed a fast moving whit hot fireball that are heading straight for the cluster of water clones that their enemy has created. The clones cannot escape in time due to the speed the collaboration attack is approaching them and small number of hand-seals that both techniques require. The enhanced fireball hit a clone and exploded in a massive explosion, destroying all the clones that Zabuza made.

'_The gaki is good. Good thing he was part of my security detail…'_is the single thought running through the mind of the bridge builder.

'_I cannot believe Ichigo has managed to teach Naruto this far. Naruto should be at least Chūnin level by now.'_ thought the trapped man inside the water sphere.

'_Why is he more powerful and skilled than me? I have trained myself to exhaustion each day so that I can come closer in killing him. And yet, here I see someone that is far more skilled than me! It is not fair! What does he have that I don't?!' _thought the battered Uchiha before falling into unconsciousness.

"You're brat is good Kakashi. Shame can't be said for the other two. Who is the blonde gaki Kakashi?" asked the curious Demon of the Mist.

"That will be my otouto Momochi Zabuza. And your ass is next." stated a new comer. Zabuza turned around to face the intruder and paled when he realised that the newcomer is someone who can whip all the members of the **Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū** (Seven Swordsmen of the Mist) asses and not break a sweat in doing so.

"I-Ichigo…" stated Zabuza in a uncharacteristic show of fear. With good reason, Zabuza has once challenged Ichigo in a fight whilst he was still a Kiri-nin, and has regretted the decision ever since. Ichigo whipped his ass all over the training dojo of the Seven Swordsmen and not break a sweat in doing so whilst also breaking his sword: Kubikiribōchō in multiple pieces each time they clash swords. Ichigo is also the only person that his former teammate, Kisame, feared and respected since his skills with the sword is so much that he managed to nick a few scales from Kisame's sword: Samehada, and nullify said sword's ability to eat the energy that is used in Ichigo's jutsu since doing so slowly melts the sword slowly every time Kisame attempts to do so.

"Yes, I am Ichigo you eyebrow-less bastard. Release Kakashi now, you will need everything you have to survive in a clash against me." suggested, well ordered, Ichigo coldly. Zabuza nodded his head and released Kakashi from his water prison, since he knew that Ichigo was not bluffing. On the one hand he is hesistant to face an enemy that he knows are miles beyond him in skills. On the other hand is equally giddy because he will now have a chance to test his skills in a battle against him. It has been 3 years at least since his last battle with the man, so he definitely improved. The question of how much will remain unanswered if he does not face this man right now.

"Kakashi, cover your Sharingan eye and regroup with your teammates. I'll take on Zabuza here." stated Ichigo. Kakashi just nodded his head, covered his Sharingan eye, and went to where his team is currently taking a breather from their own battle. Well Naruto is taking a breather, Sakura is meding Sasuke's injuries, and Tazuna is drinking sake to calm his frayed nerves. He also needs to have a breather as well since the strain of keeping his Sharingan exposed is eating away on his chakra. He made a mental note to spar with Ichigo once they have returned to Konoha, and get his skills up to snuff again.

"Let us begin Zabuza. I hope you have improved your skills after out last meeting." stated Ichigo calmly and prepared Ryūjin Jakka.

* * *

**AUTHORS NOTE:**

**1. Jutsus or Kido used in this Chapter:**

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) - A technique where chakra kneaded inside the body is converted into fire and expelled from the mouth either as a massive orb of roaring flame or as a continuous flame-thrower.**

**Katon: Karyūdan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet) - The user exhales a flame breath from their mouth.**

**Katon: Endan (Fire Release: Flame Bullet) - This technique simply shoots a flame bullet at the enemy.**

**Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) - This is a relatively simple technique that creates a sudden gust of wind, but its scale varies greatly depending on the user.**

**Fūton: Kami Oroshi (Wind Release: Godly Wind from the Mountains) ****- This technique creates a vortex of wind to blast at a target.**

**Fūton: Renkūdan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet) - Shoots out compressed air ball from its mouth.**

**Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) - The Body Flicker Technique is a high-speed movement technique, allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed. **

**Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) - This technique conceals the user underground and drags the object of their attack down into the earth, robbing them of their freedom. In addition, they can start another attack.**

**Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) - This is a genjutsu that reveals the fears that dwell inside people's hearts.**

**Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Formation Wall) - This defensive technique creates a wall of water around the user.**

**Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) - With this technique, users replace their own body with some other object, generally with a block of wood the moment an attack lands.**

**Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet) - The user kneads their chakra into flames, which are then manipulated into a genuine-looking dragon.**

**Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique) - The user compresses a large amount of chakra built up inside their body and changes it into a dragon head-shaped fireball. The user then skilfully manipulates that great fire, and attacks their opponent.**

**Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere) - A stronger version of the ****Wind Release: Vacuum Spher****e**** technique, where the user instead chooses to compress the entirety of the previously inhaled breath into a single large, crushing sphere of wind chakra that they then proceed to expel from their mouth.**

**Fūton: Shinkūgyoku (****Wind Release: Vacuum Spher****e**) - The user takes a deep breath and then exhales several small blasts of wind chakra in such a manner that they are dispersed over an expansive range, enough to make it difficult to avoid them entirely without taking any damage.

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) - The Summoning Technique is a space–time ninjutsu that allows the summoner to transport animals or people across long distances instantly via blood.**

**Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique) - This displacement technique is a speciality of the ninja from Kirigakure, where one causes a mist to spring forth by lifting up some water from either a pre-existing source or expelled from their mouth, then goes in and out of sight at will from within the pearly-white realm. The mist's thickness is controlled by the amount of chakra kneaded into it.**

**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique) - The Water Clone Technique is similar to the Shadow Clone Technique except it creates clones out of water that have one-tenth of the original person's power. Like other solid clone techniques, the clones can be used to perform tasks the user is unable or unwilling to do on their own. The range of the clone is limited however, as it cannot travel very far from the original body without losing control.**

**Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - The users splits his chakra to create multiple solid copies of the thrown kunai to harm the enemy.**

**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - ****The users splits his chakra to create multiple solid copies of the thrown shurikens to harm the enemy.**

**2. The third chapter will be an interlude on why Ichigo was only doing supporting roles in this chapter. Enjoy!**

**3. This will not be a bashing fic. I will slowly try and fish out the positive aspects of both Sakura and Sasuke as well. So those who are started thinking that I will bash them forevermore you are mistaken. I'm just really blunt in describing their flaws right now. Well, I am always blunt so how the fic describes them here are pretty much how I will describe them. Again, I am not bashing these two characters. **

**I am planning on writing Original Side Stories for them during the Exam Arc, so their characters can be more fleshed out. I will show their flaws to their character and their methods of creating a solution to said character flaws. As of right now, I am outlining possible ideas on some side-plot than can be used with each character so far. Ichigo will be the first. Naruto or Sasuke may be the second one to get a side-plot. I am also researching the personalities of both Sasuke and Sakura to know where I shall direct their stories so that they can have justice in regards to their character.  
**

**4. Regarding Smart and Strong Naruto. Try living with someone who is blunt and calculating. Chances are, those traits will rub off a person sooner or later. Naruto has been living with Ichigo for 5 years already. He is sure to pick up Ichigo's demeanor. In relation to the third point, I will solve the teamwork issues that Team 7 is suffering soon.**

**5. Canon will be changed from this point forward. Changes will be made secret for now...**


	3. Announcement (Not Hiatus or Adoption)

Interim:

This is not a new chapter but a questionnaire. Here I am going to ask you, my dear readers, what story arc will be used for Interlude Chapter of Shinigami of the Leaf. The arc chosen will be the very catalyst wherein established canon will be blown to hell. For example: 'If Itachi died even before Sasuke enters the Chunnin Exams what will happen during the retrieve Tsunade Arc and what will happen to Sasuke's avenger mission?' and so on and so forth. So without further ado here are the arcs that I have in mind:

The Immortal Duo vs. The Shinigami

Itachi and Kisame Confrontation Arc

Infiltration Mission of Otogakure with Jiraiya

The Bloodline Purge

Now, the following arcs are the ones that I will accept only. Any suggestions deviating from the choices above will not be entertained. The chosen storyline could be 2 or perhaps 3 chapters long with 20K words per chapter. It can also be a single chapter with the same amount of words. To choose, visit my profile and answer the poll that is posted there. You can only vote once so choose wisely. Lastly, regardless of the choice the overall story arc of 'Shinigami of the Leaf' will be affected by the arc that I will write for the third chapter.

Cheers!

Titanomachy


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